appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

SCMP Reporter

ASIA Securities International, controlled by Lippo, could be exempted from provisions which demand that 25 per cent of its shares be held by the public.

  Stock exchange head of listing Herbert Hui said it was likely the application for a waiver would be approved on a restricted basis.

  Formal approval is expected to be granted in the next few days.

  This would mean the company would have to re-apply for the waiver every two months.

  Under stock exchange listing requirements, at least 25 per cent of shares in a publicly listed company must be in public hands.

  Under special circumstances, however, the exchange can permit companies to remain listed if they do not meet that requirement.

  Mr Hui said that in Asia Securities' case it was important to bear in mind that the two largest shareholders, Lippo and Chinachem, were not co-operating with each other.

  ''They had some genuine difficulty with putting 25 per cent of the shares in public hands.''   Mr Hui said the immediate solution was to get as many shares into public hands as possible, which was achieved when Lippo sold 40 million shares earlier this month, diluting its stake from 57.86 per cent to the current 50.96 per cent.

  This move increased the level of public shareholding from 16 per cent to 23 per cent.

  Asia Securities chairman Jesse N C Leung clarified the current shareholding status of the company, saying that Lippo still held a 50.96 per cent stake in the company through a subsidiary called Hong Kong China, while Chinachem held around 25.82 per cent.

  There had been some confusion about the shareholdings of the company last week when announcements made to the stock exchange seemed to indicate that Lippo had reduced its holding to 46 per cent, satisfying the exchange ultimatum that at least 25 per cent of shares be held by the public.

  However, Mr Leung clarified that Lippo associated companies still held majority control over the company, and did not intend to further dilute control.

  Mr Leung said: ''There was an understanding with the stock exchange that we would have to apply for a waiver, and that is what we have done. I think this is acceptable to the stock exchange, as Hong Kong China [the Lippo subsidiary] would only reduce its shareholding to 51 per cent or risk greenmail.'' 



Group may win right to waiver