Hot stock: Aspen soars 55% to three-month high, triggers SGX query

SHARES of Malaysian property developer Aspen (Group) soared 55 per cent on Thursday (Dec 29) morning to reach a three-month high of S$0.053, before easing slightly to S$0.049 at 9.56 am.

Data from the Singapore Exchange portal showed more than 19 million shares changing hands in the morning.

This prompted Singapore Exchange Regulation to issue a query asking if the company was aware of any information not previously announced which may explain the surge, or any other explanations for the “unusual volume movements” in its shares.

The regulator also asked Aspen to confirm its compliance with listing rules and, in particular, mainboard rule 703 – which mandates an issuer announce any information necessary to avoid establishing a false market in the issuer’s securities, or which would be likely to materially affect the price of its securities.

No married deals were recorded, according to ShareInvestor data.

The group’s last posted announcement was from its glove-making unit, Aspen Glove, which had entered into an agreement to sell its rights title and interest in a piece of leased land in Malaysia and the factory built upon it for RM200 million (S$61.2 million).

The announcement was reported on Dec 15.

The group’s core business is in property development in Malaysia – building residential and mixed-use properties that target middle-income mass market purchasers.

Aspen said in response to the query mid afternoon that it was not aware of any information that might explain the unusual volume movements of its shares, and confirmed that it had complied with listing rules.