ONCE again fingers have been wagged at the chairman of a Hong Kong public company. Strong words have also been uttered. It is to be hoped that Steven Lam Wai-wah feels suitably chastened when he reads of his public censuring in the press this morning.
If it is any comfort to Mr Lam as he heads for the office of Truly International for, presumably, business as usual, he is not alone. This is the latest in a series of public censures made by the stock exchange to those who believed the listing rules were for the obedience of fools, and the manipulation of sharp men.
The question shareholders in Truly International might ask is whether a good telling off is really enough compensation for the amount of time they had spent investing in a company in which a false market had been made in the shares.
The effect on the performance of the share price cannot, of course, be measured, although the relative action compared to the Hang Seng Index is far from impressive. Truly International has been truly dismal since it floated in 1991, under-performing the Hang Seng Index by more than 30 per cent, and by 14 per cent this year.
Shareholders are entitled to ask the board of the company what its response to the stock exchange's censure will be. Mr Lam was extremely economical with the truth when it came to informing his fellow directors about the holdings of companies in the British Virgin Isles. In direct contradiction of the model code for securities transactions, he failed to inform them of his dealings.
They should not greet his appearance in the office this morning with tea and sympathy. This is a serious matter, and with ethics in business an issue in which the Independent Commission Against Corruption is trying to pump some life, such action reflects badly on Hong Kong at a time when it is striving to polish its reputation as an international financial centre.
