2010年2月19日星期五

Hong Kong Police Said to Begin Investigation of PCCW Buyout Bid

"Hong Kong Police Said to Begin Investigation of PCCW Buyout Bid | AboutHK.Com - More Information About HK"

Bloomberg

Hong Kong Police Said to Begin Investigation of PCCW Buyout BidHong Kong police are investigating PCCW Ltd. Chairman Richard Li’s failed bid last year to buy the city’s biggest phone company, two people familiar with the matter said.

Offices of at least one of Li’s companies were searched on Feb. 10, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is confidential. Police also searched the offices of Fortis Insurance Co. (Asia), a Hong Kong insurer formerly controlled by Li’s Pacific Century Regional Developments Ltd., the people said. Police had search warrants for Li’s residences as of Feb. 10, according to the people.

In April, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission won a court ruling to block Li’s $2.1 billion buyout of PCCW after the regulator alleged that hundreds of people, including Fortis Asia agents, were given shares in the phone carrier to boost support for the deal. According to the court ruling last year, the February 2009 shareholder ballot was manipulated and didn’t reflect the interests of PCCW minority investors.

“We will cooperate fully with any investigation and wish to see it resolved as soon as practically possible,” said Martin Rogers, a lawyer for Li at Clifford Chance LLP in Hong Kong, in an e-mailed statement. “We do not believe Richard Li is the target of any investigation or that any senior management of PCRD or PCCW has committed any wrongdoing.”

No Charges Filed

No charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing, one of the people familiar with matter said. Police declined to comment. Li hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing.

The splitting and distribution of stock ahead of shareholder votes, while legal, may undermine the spirit of the law and amount to manipulation, Judges Anthony Rogers, Johnson Lam and Aarif Barma said in their May 12 written judgment for their April 22 decision to block the PCCW buyout.

Anita Choi, a spokeswoman for PCCW, and Ernest Kong, a spokesman at the commission, declined to comment.

Fortis Asia spokeswoman Angela Yam said on Feb. 10 that the insurer received inquiries from police, declining to elaborate. Yam, when contacted yesterday, declined to comment.

--Editors: David E. Rovella, Mike Hytha

To contact the reporters on this story: Nick Gentle in Hong Kong at +852-2977-6545 or ngentle2@bloomberg.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and; Mark Lee in Hong Kong at +852-2977-6909 or wlee37@bloomberg.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at +81-3-3201-3882 or ycho2@bloomberg.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and; David E. Rovella at +1-212-617-1092 or drovella@bloomberg.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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