HK regulator freezes more accounts linked to firm whose shares jumped 1,300%

Carmen Century Investment

25/06/2019 11:55

HONG KONG, June 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's securities
regulator on Tuesday ordered nine more brokers to freeze their
client accounts related to suspected manipulation of shares in
investment firm China Ding Yi Feng Holdings  6012.HK  between
2018 and early 2019.
    The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) ordered a
trading suspension in Ding Yi Feng's shares in March this year.
The company stock jumped 145% in 2018 following a 1,303% surge
in the previous year.
    The SFC said in March it had ordered nine brokers to freeze
client accounts related to suspected manipulation of shares in
Ding Yi Feng.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21728A 
    March's list and Tuesday's had the name of just one broker
in common, Sun Hung Kai Investment Services. 
    Separately, the SFC on Tuesday also ordered 14 brokers to
freeze client accounts linked to suspected manipulation of
shares of IT company Smartac Group China Holdings Ltd  0395.HK 
between October 2018 and March 2019.
    Ding Yi Feng owned 3.5 percent of Smartac as of the end of
2018, its largest investment, the former's annual results for
that year showed. 
    Smartac's shares rose 775% between 30 October and 14
December last year, when they peaked at HK$1.05 a share. On
Tuesday, Smartac's shares closed at HK$0.315 a share. 
    The SFC said in both statements on Tuesday, in the interests
of investing public, the brokers were prohibited from disposing
of assets held in the accounts, and from dealing with them.
    The brokers, were not under investigation, the securities
watchdog said.
    Neither Ding Yi Feng nor Smartac had an immediate comment
when contacted by Reuters.

 (Reporting by Alun John and Felix Tam; Editing by Sumeet
Chatterjee and David Evans)
 ((Alun.John@thomsonreuters.com; +852-28415827;))