THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) imposed a civil penalty of S$350,000 on Gui Boon Sui for conducting false and unauthorised trading of shares in Hiap Hoe and Hotel Grand Central.
Gui is currently listed as the chairman of Regency Steel Asia. The steel solution provider was formed in 2004, following the acquisition of Hong Leong Asia’s structural steel division and is a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsui.
His sentencing follows a joint investigation by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and MAS into the case, said both parties on Monday (Jan 13).
Their investigations found that between December 2018 and August 2022, Gui bought shares in the two companies for the purpose of artificially inflating the counters’ closing prices.
Hiap Hoe is a regional real estate group listed on the Singapore Exchange’s mainboard. Meanwhile, mainboard-listed Hotel Grand Central operates a chain of hotels in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.
Apart from using his own account to carry out the false trades, Gui had also used two of his employees’ accounts without the authorisation of brokerage firms, said the authorities.
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Gui artificially inflated the closing prices of Hiap Hoe and Hotel Grand Central shares for 554 days and 56 days, respectively, in the recorded period, they added.
He has since admitted to contravening false trading rules under the Securities and Futures Act and will pay MAS the civil penalty without court action.
He has since given an undertaking that he will not be a company director or involved in the management of a company, for a period of two years.
In October 2017, Gui became a substantial shareholder of Hiap Hoe, owning 5 per cent of the shares. As at Mar 18, 2024 he owns some 5.5 per cent in deemed interest in the company.
Shares of Hiap Hoe were trading flat at S$0.56, while those of Hotel Grand Central were trading down 2.8 per cent or S$0.02 at S$0.695 as at 3.37 pm on Monday.
