With his UOB Kay Hian deemed stake nearing 30%, will Wee Ee Chao make an offer?

CHAIRMAN and managing director of UOB Kay Hian, Wee Ee Chao, has been nibbling on the mainboard-listed brokerage shares in recent years, and now his gradually built-up shareholding is inching near the 30 per cent trigger point for a mandatory general offer.

Hence, one may wonder if the scion of prominent United Overseas Bank (UOB) banker Wee Cho Yaw is contemplating jumping onto the privatisation bandwagon seen in recent times, to make an offer to delist UOB Kay Hian, Singapore's only listed brokerage.

The junior Wee kicked off his first purchases this year on Jan 8. Within about a fortnight to Jan 24, he had scooped up half a million shares in UOB Kay Hian at S$1.22 apiece. His deemed interest in the brokerage stands at 29.55 per cent, making the 65-year-old the second-largest shareholder of UOB Kay Hian after UOB.