A former Fidelity Management portfolio manager, already found to have committed market misconduct, is due before a tribunal today to learn whether he will be banned from trading in Hong Kong for selling shares ahead of a Chinese rights issue.
The Hong Kong Market Misconduct Tribunal found last month that George Stairs, who managed Fidelity’s International Value Fund and co-managed the Total International Equity Fund, improperly placed an order to sell shares in Chaoda Modern Agriculture Holdings, a fruit and vegetable supplier, after being told it was planning a sizeable equity placing. The case is part of international efforts to crack down on market misconduct.
The UK Financial Services Authority has brought similar cases against six people, including the US hedge fund billionaire David Einhorn, this year. The Hong Kong Court of Appeal last month rejected claims from an investor that he did not know he had been given non-public information.