SINGAPORE (Aug 8): Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has requested for the trading of its shares to be halted.
The request, submitted by executive chairman Ren Yuanlin, came minutes after the Singapore Exchange posted a query about the company's trading activity.
The bourse regulator said it had noted unusual price movements in the company's shares and asked the China-based shipbuilder for an explanation.
As at 3.57pm, shares in Yangzijiang were down 26 cents, or 20%, with nearly 84 million units traded, compared to its 30-day average volume of some 19 million units.
“Are you aware of any other possible explanation for the trading? Such information may include public circulation of information by rumours or reports,” asked Kelvin Koh, vice-president, head of surveillance, SGX.
He also asked Yangzijiang to confirm its compliance with the listing rules.
Rumours have been swirling in certain stock investing forums that Ren has been “missing for over two months and is under investigation by Chinese authorities for corruption.”
Yangzijiang has yet file its answers.
In 2Q19 ended June, Yangzijiang posted 6 % lower earnings of 936 million yuan ($183.6 million) compared to the same quarter a year ago.
See: Yangzijiang posts 6% decline in 2Q earnings to $186 mil on lower revenue
Revenue was down 12% at 7 billion yuan as its core shipbuilding business generated revenue of 3.1 billion yuan, down from 5.2 billion yuan from last year.
