Asti substantial shareholder has bought 9.4m shares since October

ASTI Holdings substantial shareholder Soh Pock Kheng has bought 9.4 million shares for S$779,229 since Oct 19, the company announced on Monday after halting trading in its stock.

From Oct 19 to Dec 14, 2017, Mr Soh accumulated those shares between 7.76 Singapore cents to nine Singapore cents apiece from the open market.

A spokesperson for Asti said that these purchases were not disclosed earlier because the company is only required to disclose substantial-shareholding changes that cross each one per cent mark. (see amendment note)

Mr Soh had bought 3.4 million shares for S$295,803 in October, another two million shares for S$160,026 in November, and most recently on Dec 14, purchased four million shares for $323,400.

During this period, his stake in the mainboard-listed company rose from 5.13 per cent to 6.57 per cent.

The counter last traded at 8.8 Singapore cents on Dec 15, 7.32 per cent higher on the day. Between October and Dec 15, the stock traded within a range of 7.5 Singapore cents to 9.9 Singapore cents.

Amendment note: An earlier version of this story said that substantial shareholders are required to inform the company of changes in shareholdings within two business days. The company has clarified that disclosure is only required when a substantial shareholder's interest crosses each one per cent mark.