ATV sale saga: whose head will roll over false report of buyout?
Station may face SFC investigation for issuing false information on sale after surge in HKTV shares, ex-commerce chief Frederick Ma says
After the uproar caused by the false report that major ATV investor Wong Ching would sell his controlling stake to Ricky Wong Wai-kay's HKTV, the question now is: who should be held responsible, and possibly prosecuted, for releasing the news?
Former commerce minister Frederick Ma Si-hang said yesterday that ATV could have breached laws by issuing inaccurate information.
Ma said he believed the Securities and Futures Commission, the market watchdog, would launch a probe as HKTV's shares appeared to have gone up after ATV's announcement.
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"[ATV] made a unilateral announcement on an important transaction that was later denied by HKTV," he said. "This somehow showed the information was inaccurate. If the announcement affected the other company, I believe the SFC would probably launch a probe."
The report about the deal - made during ATV's Chinese-language newscast at 6pm on Tuesday - sent HKTV shares surging 75 cents, or 24.42 per cent, to a high of HK$3.82 at one stage yesterday, before closing up 28 cents, or 9.12 per cent, at HK$3.35.
Trading was unusually hectic, with 87 million shares changing hands, compared with the average turnover of 2.3 million shares a day in the past three months.
According to the report, Wong Ching and his relative Wong Ben-koon, who holds the 52.4 per cent stake on paper, had accepted an offer from Ricky Wong.
Neither HKTV nor Ricky Wong, who is understood to be out of town, responded to the report for almost 13 hours. At 6.57am yesterday, HKTV issued a statement via Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing saying it had not agreed to ATV's offer.
When asked if a probe would be launched, the SFC said it would not comment on individual cases.
HKTV admitted in its statement yesterday that Ricky Wong met Wong Ching on March 26.
But it said: "No agreement or agreement in principle has been reached by Mr Ricky Wong, whether or not on behalf of the company with anyone with regard to the possible transaction.
"The company has not entered into any discussions with the joint and several managers of ATV appointed by the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."
The company said the March 26 meeting was to exchange and discuss preliminary ideas on how assistance may be provided to ATV's operations and a renewal of its domestic free-to-air television licence.
ATV said in its announcement on Tuesday that it had "been notified by shareholder Wong Ben-koon and major investor Wong Ching, that after repeated negotiation and consulting the views of management, they have accepted the main conditions offered by HKTV chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay to transfer ATV's controlling stakes to Ricky Wong's company". It added: "This transaction still requires the approval of the court, of Deloitte accounting firm which it appointed as managers, and of the Communications Authority."
ATV vice-president Lau Lan-cheong said yesterday that Tuesday's announcement was "accurate" in that it reflected the station's decision to sell stakes to Ricky Wong.
"This is because ATV decided to sell stakes to Ricky Wong, but whether Wong would accept the offer, that was another news item to be followed," Lau said.
Democrat Wu Chi-wai said the Communications Authority should exercise its regulatory powers over ATV to avoid inaccurate news.
