Political pundit Clara Chou (周玉蔻) yesterday filed an insider trading charge against Taipei mayoral aspirant Sean Lien (連勝文), who announced on Monday last week that he would seek the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) nomination.
“The Chinese Nationalist Party should think twice [before nominating Lien] because the insider trading allegations involving Lien are serious. Lien and his aides should clear the matter with the public,” Chou said at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, adding that Lien might have also violated the Securities Exchange Act (證券交易法) and other offenses.
She said Lien endorsed Golden Meditech Holdings on Jan. 24, 2011, when the Chinese company began issuing Taiwan depositary receipts (TDR), and again on Sept. 6 that year when it announced a cooperation deal with Taiwan Life Insurance Co and Long Bon International Co.
Golden Meditec’s shares hit limit-up for eight straight trading days and saw a 67 percent increase in price after Lien’s initial endorsement, before falling significantly until his second endorsement in September last year, Chou said.
She said Meditec’s shares had performed badly until February this year.
However, when the public was kept guessing at Lien’s Taipei mayoral bid, its shares suddenly hit limit-up successively on Feb. 18 and 19, and its trade volume also increased.
She also said Lien, founder of Hong Kong-based Evenstar Sub Fund, which held 6.84 percent of Meditech’s total shares, had promised when he made the endorsements that Meditech would invest in establishing hospitals in Taiwan, but the company has not been keen on investing in the country since then.
She said he also endorsed Intai Technology Corp, a medical equipment manufacturer that trades on the GRETAI Securities Market, which helped its share price advance from NT$72 to NT$100 before it dropped again.
Lien spokeswoman Chin Hui-yuan (秦蕙媛) denied Chou’s allegation and said the Lien camp would sue Chou for defamation.
Additional reporting by Peng Hsien-chun
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