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Wednesday, April 9, 2008

[EXTRACT] By CHEW XIANG - JADE TECH

Top Print Edition Stories
Published April 9, 2008

Jade's designated status lifted, but questions remain

Hedge funds have also been taking up positions in the company's shares

By CHEW XIANG


(SINGAPORE) Trading in Jade Technologies will return to normal today, but market watchers say the convoluted takeover saga has thrown up many questions that need answers.

Dr Soh: His method of raising funds for a takeover is not common in Singapore, according to a brokerage director

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) yesterday lifted Jade's designated status, saying that trading in the stock has been orderly since the share was designated on Sunday. The designation meant short-selling of the counter was banned. This restriction is removed from today.

Jade shares closed at 6 cents yesterday, down 0.5 cent on volume of 72.7 million shares. This was less than half the 166 million shares that changed hands on Monday.

Jade's group president Anthony Soh had last Saturday withdrawn his offer for the company after admitting that his holdings were lower than stated, meaning he could no longer guarantee he had enough funds to continue with the bid.

He had pledged about 30.5 per cent of Jade to an Australian broker as security for margin loans but under the terms of the agreement, ownership of that block had actually passed to the broker, Opes. Opes collapsed two weeks ago and Dr Soh claims he was 'under the impression' he retained beneficial interest in the shares and only realised to the contrary on April 1, when Opes's receivers sent clients a circular.

While trading in Jade shares may have settled down, market watchers say outstanding issues remain.

The circumstances of Dr Soh's takeover offer of Jade are now under investigation by the Securities Industry Council (SIC) but many say the fact that OCBC Bank abruptly quit as financial adviser to the offeror on April 1 was very unusual.

A director at an investment bank said he could not remember the last time a financial adviser had quit while a takeover offer was underway.

When approached, OCBC Bank declined to comment.

The director of the investment bank also said Dr Soh's deal with Opes was almost never seen in Singapore as it amounted to a sell-and-repurchase agreement and 'nobody would do this, because you're effectively selling down, and the market will be nervous'. This is because those with a significant stake in a company have to disclose changes in their holdings to SGX.

He said Opes could be contravening Singapore law if it had taken ownership of a significant block of shares but failed to inform the exchange.

A lawyer noted that while Dr Soh's offer document stated he was responsible for its accuracy, a financial adviser does have to check if the offeror has enough funding. This includes making sure of the offeror's stated holdings, she said.

A director at a brokerage said that Dr Soh's method of raising funds was not common in Singapore. He said his brokerage would not provide loans similar to that provided by Opes. Dr Soh told BT in an interview on Sunday that Opes had extended 60 per cent credit on the value of the shares.

The director said: 'It depends, but usually 5 per cent is more normal. Sixty per cent is very unusual.'

It emerged yesterday that hedge funds have been taking up positions in Jade. Omni Partners LLP, a London-based fund manager, yesterday said it now has a deemed interest in 6.2 per cent of Jade shares through three funds it manages. The funds had bought 49 million Jade shares on March 31, a few days after Opes went into receivership.

Australian investigators are now probing Opes's collapse. According to media reports yesterday, British Virgin Islands holding company Riqueza, headed by a Singapore-based director, made margin calls that led to Opes's fall.

According to the Australian newspaper The Age, Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto is reportedly in Singapore to help Opes clients recoup their losses.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Road To Recovery?

Straits Time3344.53+3344.53(+1.50%)
SENSEX 15832.55+82.15(+0.52%)
UOB Sesdaq 206.88+206.88(+0.00%)
KLSE Comp 1225.58-14.07(-1.13%)
Nikkei 225 13389.90+200.54(+1.52%)
Hang Seng 24264.63+392.20(+1.64%)
Dow Jones 12557.31-48.52(-0.38%)
KOSPI 1763.63+21.44(+1.23%)
SSEC 3446.24+98.36(+2.94%)

Well, as you can see, a V rather than a U is realising as the chart take its shape. Well, for China Hongxing, I would be inclined to believed that it will actually jumped straight from tomorrow's trading session because attributed by China's Bejing 2008, Olympic. Well, China Hongxing is one stock that has the potential to be a monopoly in such a big market like China. If you would agree with me. Yangzijiang will recover somewhat based on what will be the result of DJ tonight, it should end flat as bargain buying meets skeptical profit taking due to the job claim data.

As for sector funds side, Thailand and India is extremely attractive in their current price. Emerging, although India is believed to be slowing down by many major analyst, my feeling is that we should see a great incline in Q2 to Q3. Europe after being sell down to a very low level is current oversold. Buying opportunity present itself very appealing as this giant is waiting wake up the rest of the world, led mainly and essentially by banks.

The above mentioned is based on personal opinion and is not at all, an inducement to trade.

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Tuesday, April 1, 2008

It Is Time For Customised Shopping Cart Solution



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