SGX Reprimands SingPost for Breaching Listing Rules

Media reports said that when the deal was announced in July 2014, SingPost stated that none of its directors or controlling shareholders had any direct or indirect interest in the acquisition.
However, it was found that SingPost's then independent director Keith Tay was a 34.5% shareholder of Stirling Coleman Capital, which arranged for the acquisition of FSM. Moreover, when the inaccuracy was detected, the matter was not brought to the attention of the SingPost board, and a clarification announcement was made only 17 months after the announcement of the acquisition.

Administrative oversight?
By failing to disclose a director's interest in the deal, SingPost was in breach of disclosure requirements, which require the content of each announcement to be "factual, clear and succinct," said SGX.
In a reaction in December 2015, SingPost claimed that the inaccuracy in its acquisition announcement was "due to an administrative oversight."
"Listed companies should have clear, established disclosure policies and appropriate systems of internal checks and controls to assure compliance with disclosure obligations," SGX said in the reprimand.
SGX has referred the case to the relevant authorities.

Nol van Fenema