Hong Kong’s securities regulator orders Chinese drug company Hua Han to suspend trading
- Hua Han’s shares have been suspended from Hong Kong trade since September 27, 2016, pending releases by the company
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has directed the city’s exchange to suspend all trading in the shares of Hua Han Health Industry Holdings, a Chinese pharmaceutical company, from Tuesday.
Hua Han has halted its shares and debt securities from trading since September 27, 2016, pending releases of its financial results and the results of relevant investigation by auditors.
Earlier this month, Hua Han said in a filing that the audit procedures for its annual results of 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 are still ongoing, while unaudited interim results for 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 are still being prepared.
The SFC has made the decision on Hua Han under Rule 8 (1) of the Securities and Futures (Stock Market Listing) Rules, according to an exchange filing by Hua Han on Tuesday.
According to the clause, the suspension may be invoked in a number of instances, including where it appears the company has included any “materially false, incomplete, or misleading” information in any document it has issued to the market, or where it is necessary to maintain a fair market or to protect the investing public.
This marks the SFC’s third such ruling this year, following 14 such cases in 2017. Some companies disclosed reasons by the SFC in their filings, but the regulator itself rarely commented publicly on the circumstances of these companies, citing the need for confidentiality during investigations.
In July and August, the SFC ordered trading suspensions separately on Hong Kong-based Real Nutriceutical Group and Kunming-based Shenji Group Kunming Machine Tool.
The two companies said respectively in filings that the SFC considered them having included false, misleading, or incomplete information in their earnings announcements.
For similar reasons, share trading of Town Health International Medical Group and China Wah Yan Healthcare were suspended in 2017 under the regulator’s directions.
