CEFC says shareholding spread sufficient to enable operation of an orderly market (Amended)

PETROCHEMICAL and fuel oil trader CEFC International says its latest shareholding statistics shows that its shareholding spread is sufficient to enable the operation of an orderly market.

The disclosure comes after the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Friday and Saturday asked the company to disclose shareholding statistics in view of the unusual trading activities detected recently.

CEFC replied that its controlling shareholder, Singapore Petrochemical & Energy Development Pte Ltd's shareholding remains at 76.58 per cent.

It said that the controlling shareholder has not sold or bought any shares since March 13 this year, adding that it has also not received any notification from any substantial shareholders regarding any changes in their shareholding or percentages since March 13.

Based on the latest available information available, the company believes that the public float is at about 23.42 per cent.

This is the second query within a week and the third in the past month.

On Tuesday, CEFC was queried by SGX about the unusual trading activity in its shares.

The counter shot up 80 per cent, or S$0.08, to finish at S$0.18 on Monday, with some 127.5 million shares changing hands. The spike in activity drew the attention of market watchers.

Previously, the company was queried on July 13, also about the unusual price and volume movements in its shares that day.

Amendment: The latest query from SGX is a listing rules query and not a trading query. The article has been updated to reflect this.