SFC begins insider trading case against Water Oasis ex-chief Salina Yu

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission said on Thursday that it had begun proceedings in the Market Misconduct Tribunal against Salina Yu Lai-si, the former chief executive of Water Oasis Group, for alleged insider dealing of her company’s shares.

The commission said Yu avoided a loss of about HK$281,346 by selling all her Water Oasis shares in one of her securities trading accounts shortly after she was informed by H2O Plus at around 10am on January 20, 2012, that it would terminate her company’s exclusive distributorship of H2O’s products in mainland China and Taiwan with immediate effect.

She sold her shares before her company put out an announcement about the termination over 12 hours later at 10.13pm on the same day. That was the last trading day before the Lunar New Year holiday weekend.

Water Oasis shares dropped 14.08 per cent to close at HK$1.22 on January 26, the first trading day after the announcement. Yu resigned as Water Oasis’ chief executive and executive director on July 6, 2012.

“The SFC alleges that both the news about the termination of the exclusive distribution rights and the significance of the contribution of H2O’s operations in mainland [China] and Taiwan to the net profit of Water Oasis were not publicly known and were material to Water Oasis’ share price,” the regulator said in a statement.

Water Oasis, listed in Hong Kong in March 2002, distributes skincare products in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore and mainland China. It also operates beauty salons, spas and medical beauty centres in Hong Kong and mainland China.