DIRECTORS of Double Kingdom Holdings have been censured by the stock exchange for breaching listing rules, in failing to ensure a free and open market existed in the company's shares.
The severe public censure is one in a recent series issued by the exchange's listing committee and comes on the back of new exchange proposals to cut down on listing abuses by tightening the rules.
In Double Kingdom's case, the exchange, on investigation, found that on the first day's trading of the stock in November 1991, 96 per cent of turnover was linked to an individual associated to directors.
The stock slumped five cents to $1.15 from the issue price of $1.20 on that day.
Those censured at the cordless telephone maker were group chairman and managing director Billy Leung Chung-hung; a director and former Securities and Futures Commission manager in capital markets, Paul Tse Po-lau; and Vincent Leung Kwok-hung, a founding member of the company.
Also censured were vice-chairman Victor Kwok Kam-shing, telecommunications engineer Stephen Tam Sang-kwong and marketing director Sunny Wong Sun-fat.
At the time of the Peregrine-sponsored and underwritten listing, the group said the subscription to the 75 million shares on offer had been 100 per cent oversubscribed.