Tiger Asia must pay investors back HK$45 m
HK court orders US hedge fund to refund investors on other side of insider trades it made on mainland banks in 2008 and 2009
A Hong Kong court yesterday ordered US hedge fund Tiger Asia Management and two senior executives to pay more than HK$45 million to about 1,800 investors for insider dealing of shares in two Hong Kong-listed mainland banks in 2008 and 2009.
The Court of First Instance gave the verdict after Tiger Asia, its founder Bill Hwang Sung-kook and head of trading Raymond Park admitted to insider dealing and market manipulation, as alleged by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
They have to pay HK$45.27 million, roughly the sum they earned from the illegal trades, to administrators John Lees and Kok Wing-chong of JLA Asia, which will arrange the refund to investors who traded against the fund in those deals.
But Tiger Asia's legal battle with the SFC is not yet over. The Market Misconduct Tribunal will have a three-day hearing from May 7.
The SFC said Tiger Asia had already admitted to insider dealing and manipulation to the tribunal, so the hearing would be to determine the penalties to be imposed on the firm and the executives.
Tiger Asia’s admission of insider dealing ... vindicates the SFC’s allegations
It will also ask the tribunal to issue a "cease and desist order" to ban Tiger Asia, Hwang and Park from dealing in Hong Kong for up to five years.