Singapore investment firm fined for pre-emptive transaction

The company, a unit of Singapore-based investment firm Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd, was fined for violations in its purchase of shares from Vietnamese industrial appliance maker Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE).

Platinum Victory purchased 50,000 shares from REE on February 25, three days before the registered timeframe to buy over 350,900 shares between February 28-March 29, the commission (SSC) said in a statement.

This is the first time a subsidiary of a foreign company was fined by SSC this year.

Platinum Victory is the largest shareholder in the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange-listed REE with a 24.9 percent stake. It is also a major shareholder in Vietnam’s largest dairy firm Vinamilk with 10.6 percent ownership.

Since the end of last year, Platinum Victory had been making moves to acquire more ownership in REE and Vinamilk without success.