Hot stock: Ying Li down 10% after married deal disclosure

SHARES of Ying Li International Real Estate plunged 10.11 per cent on Friday following news that its CEO had disposed of some shares in a S$20.7 million married deal.

The property firm lifted a two-day trading halt at 8.30am this morning after responding to a Singapore Exchange query on Thursday night.

As of 11.05am, Ying Li was trading down 10.11 per cent or 1.8 Singapore cents to 16 Singapore cents apiece. Some 38.1 million shares changed hands, making it one of the most actively traded counters on the Singapore bourse.

The firm, responding to SGX, said on Thursday night that its CEO and chairman Fang Ming, who is also a controlling shareholder, had sold off 153 million shares at 13.5 Singapore cents apiece to another shareholder, State Alpha Limited.

The deal was reflected as an off-market transaction on Wednesday night, with the buyer of the shares undisclosed, after Ying Li's share price surged on Tuesday prompting a query from the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

Ying Li's share price surged 15.6 per cent to close at 17.8 Singapore cents on Tuesday, with some 222.8 million shares changing hands, prompting a query. Trades on Tuesday were done at 0.54 times of the price-to-book ratio.

The share purchase raised State Alpha's stake in Ying Li by 6 per cent to 14.02 per cent. The fund, which is in turn owned by China Everbright, lifted China Everbright's stake in Ying Li to 28.92 per cent, and the Hong Kong-listed firm retained its position as Ying Li's second largest shareholder.

A trader BT spoke to said, "the market probably got ahead of itself" in anticipation of some corporate action, and traded back down to realistic levels today "after a dose of reality check".

He also noted that the acquisition price of 13.5 Singapore cents was substantially lower than the market price, and that a general offer will not be triggered as the share of its substantial shareholder has not crossed the 30 per cent mark.