THE Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) decided to start delisting procedures against agricultural firm Calata Corp. even before it lifted the trading suspension.
The PSE said in its notice it found Calata to have violated disclosure rules by 29 times from November 29, 2016, through June 20. The PSE also found 26 violations of Section 13.2 of the PSE Disclosure Rules from October 6, 2016, to March 16 and April 26 to May 2.
“Under the scale of penalties in the PSE Disclosure Rules, the fourth and succeeding violations …constitute grounds for delisting,” it said.
The PSE added that under paragraphs (a) and (i) of its rules, “failure to comply with the PSE Disclosure Rules, repeated failure to make timely, adequate and accurate disclosures of information or failure to submit any reportorial requirement to the exchange in accordance” with the rules “are among the grounds/criteria for initiation of involuntary delisting proceeding, and, when applicable, imposition of the relisting prohibition”.
In June the PSE already suspended the trading of Calata’s shares for one month. It was supposed to lift the said suspension on July 30.
For the suspension of trade, the PSE said the company violated its rules on the timely disclosure of the disposition of shares by a company’s directors and principal officers and disclosure of updates of previous disclosures on material information that may affect investor decision.
The PSE also found the company to have violated the “blackout rule”.
This rule prohibits directors and principal officers who have obtained material nonpublic information to trade their company’s shares within a prescribed period. The blackout rule was also put in place to provide a fair-market environment to the investing public by disallowing the possible trading of company insiders using non-public information that they may have access to by virtue of their position in the company.