Tighten SGX's gatekeeper role in placements

UNDER section 806 of the Singapore Exchange's Listing Manual, shareholders can grant a general mandate to their managements to raise capital via shares or convertibles provided the number of shares eventually handed out does not exceed 50 per cent of issued shares excluding treasury shares.

Whenever this fund-raising avenue is tapped, there is a consequent dilution of existing shareholdings, so the assumption has to be that it was done with t…