KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia has fined HwangDBS Investment Bank Bhd dealer Tan Kai Kiat RM312,000 for engaging in “manipulative” dealing activities involving various counters.

Among the counters Bursa said Tan had dealt in are Integrated Rubber Corp Bhd, Narra Industries Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, DRB-Hicom Bhd, Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd and UEM Sunrise Bhd, as well as warrants in Genting Plantations Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, IJM Plantations Bhd and Land & General Bhd.

The regulatory body has also ordered Tan to be struck off as a dealer.

In a statement yesterday, Bursa said Tan had deliberately executed pre-arranged cross trades in the securities of eight counters to benefit his family members at the expense of HwangDBS’ investment account, which suffered losses from the trades.

Tan had also executed artificial buy orders by entering multiple orders in another three counters on several trading days, which were repeatedly modified or amended, including increasing the order size of these buy orders, so as to lower priority whenever these buy orders moved into the priority queue, said Bursa.  

Bursa also said he had facilitated the disposals of related structured warrants in his mother’s account by engaging in order book manipulation in the underlying shares of four counters.  

Bursa said these “false trading activities” conducted by Tan had created misleading trading in the relevant securities, including giving rise to artificially inflated volume through the cross trades done at prices which were being dictated or determined by Tan.

“The extent of the aforesaid manipulative activities on numerous counters had impacted the market or price, and caused disorderliness to the market for these securities,” the statement read.  

“Tan had put himself in conflicting situations by placing his or his family members’ interests ahead of his responsibility as a registered person in his capacity as a dealer’s representative, which had brought into question as to whether he was a fit and proper person to be a registered person,” the statement added.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 20, 2015.