The Hong Kong office of Soros Fund Management (SFM) was reprimanded and fined HK$1.5m ($191,979.15) by Hong Kong’s securities watchdog for failures in short selling of Great Wall Motor Company shares on behalf of a fund it managed.
The move follows a probe by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The probe found that Soros Fund Management was notified of being entitled to 1.6 million bonus shares due to its pre-existing ownership of 808,000 Great Wall Motor shares.
Go deeper with GlobalData
However, SFM’s trade support team booked the 1.6 million shares into its trading system without separating them into a restricted account, as was the policy.
This led to the system indicating 2.4 million Great Wall Motor shares available for trading, when in reality only 808,000 shares were available for trading.
“Based on the erroneous information shown in the system, one of the fund’s portfolio managers placed an order to sell 2,424,000 shares of Great Wall on 2 October 2015, causing the fund to become short by 1,616,000 shares in Great Wall,” SFC said in a statement.
The regulator accused the company of failing to act with due skill in the bonus shares.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataIt also alleged that the company failed to monitor its employees and deploy effective controls to meet short selling requirements.
While determining the penalty, the regulator considered the firm’s clean disciplinary record as well as its remedial measures to improve internal controls.
Moreover, the watchdog did not find evidence of the company acting in bad faith.
