Integrity, GIC and the Government of Singapore

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Guess who is GIC's management No. 3. Check the leadership in the URL and read the press release 10 years.

http://www.gic.com.sg/index.php/abou...our-leadership

This is the role of President of Singapore where GIC is concerned.

Quote:
GIC is accountable in various key areas to the President of Singapore as a Fifth Schedule company. The Constitution empowers him to obtain information to enable him to safeguard the country’s reserves. No one may be appointed to or removed from the GIC Board without his concurrence. This additional layer of control ensures that the company appoints only people of integrity who are competent and who can be trusted to safeguard these assets.

So how come a someone who was found guilty of insider trading by a foreign government sanctioned for this criminal conduct by his own Government has been appointed by the President despite the comment about integrity. Could not this country find someone with values to undertake this role. It is a bloody disgrace and insult to the intelligence of ordinary Singaporeans. The dishonesty of this Government is mind boggling.

So what is the meaning of "people of integrity"?


Press Release
(Provisional Translation)
October 21, 2004
Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission

A civil penalty enforcement action has been taken by MAS against employees of GIC for insider trading involving Japanese securities market.

1. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has just announced today that MAS has taken civil penalty enforcement action against three employees of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd (GIC) for breaches of the Securities and Futures Act of Singapore based on its findings that those employees did insider trading involving Japanese securities market.
This kind of insider trading is a so-called cross border transaction which is a securities transaction in a Japanese securities market by a foreign resident. The enforcement action by MAS has come as a result of our request of investigation into and providing information of a suspicious case of insider trading, which was detected by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission of Japan (SESC), based on the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MAS on the sharing of information on securities matters.
This case is a fruit of international regulatory cooperation to combat with cross border market misconduct. SESC appreciates MAS for its cooperation and will continue to advance such international cooperation.


2.

Outline of the case


(1)
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (SMFG) made an announcement before the opening of the securities markets on February 17, 2003 on its public offering of the preferred stock with the size of over ¥300 billion. The three employees of GIC received the above information before the announcement, and used the above information, resulting in the sale of SMFG shares on behalf of GIC based on the non-public information on February 13, 2003. As the price of SMFG shares fell after the announcement of the proposed offering, the sales of SMFG shares resulted in gains (through losses avoided) of about S$710,000(equivalent to ¥48.6 million calculated by using the then foreign currency exchange rate; 1S$ = ¥68.3). These gains were not retained by the employees concerned since the trading was undertaken on behalf of GIC.

(2)
MAS has taken civil penalty enforcement action against the three employees for breaches of the insider trading provisions under Section 219 of the Securities and Futures Act of Singapore. The name of the employees and the amount of civil penalty to be paid to MAS are as follows:

Mr. Lim Kee Chong S$400,000
Mr. Teng Cheong Thye S$240,000
Mr. Choo Yong Cheen S$75,000

(3)
MAS' investigations did not find any breach of the Securities and Futures Act of Singapore by GIC as a company, however, GIC has volunteered to give a sum of about S$710,000 (representing the gains resulting from the breaches of the three employees) over to MAS.


(Reference)
1. MOU with MAS on the sharing of information on securities matters
The MOU was signed on December 2001 between Japan and Singapore. Two securities regulatory authority provide each other with information on securities markets based on a formal request.

2.
Prices of SMFG shares before and after the announcement are as follows:

February 14, 2003 (Friday) ¥ 403,000 (closing price)
February 17, 2003 (Monday) SMFG announced its public offering at 8AM
¥ 374,000(closing price)

3.
Insider Trading under Section 219 of the Securities and Futures Act of Singapore
Prohibits a person who is in possession of material price sensitive information concerning any securities, which he knows is not generally available and material price sensitive, from
(1) subscribing for, purchasing, selling, or entering into an agreement to subscribe for, purchase or sell those securities [219(2)(a)].
(2) procuring another person subscribe for, purchase, sell, or enter into an agreement to subscribe for, purchase or sell those securities [219(2)(b)]
(3) communicating the information to another person if he knows or ought to reasonably know that the other person would or would likely to do above (1) and/or (2) [219(3)]


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