UOB Kay Hian cleared to resume IPO and RTO activities following moratorium lift

SINGAPORE Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) has lifted a moratorium on UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) with immediate effect.

This allows the brokerage to resume its role as issue manager and full sponsor for initial public offerings (IPOs) and reverse takeovers (RTOs) on the local bourse.

The moratorium, imposed on Dec 27, 2022, had restricted UOBKH from managing new IPO and RTO submissions, except for agreements made before Aug 31, 2022.

“SGX RegCo notes that UOBKH has taken remedial action to strengthen its policies and procedures for IPO and RTO transactions, including enhanced oversight on the activities of UOBKH’s corporate finance department,” the regulator said on Thursday (Oct 17).

The moratorium followed a S$375,000 fine imposed on UOBKH by the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Aug 31, 2022, for business conduct compliance failures.

These failures included violations of the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations, as well as lapses in anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism protocols.

Between September 2012 and June 2018, UOBKH failed to implement sufficient controls in its corporate finance business and did not subject the department to internal audits.

Additionally, from December 2016 to August 2017, UOBKH breached the central bank’s requirements to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism, due to material lapses in its control processes.

In January 2023, the brokerage announced measures to improve its internal policies and controls, including the appointment of an independent external party to assess and implement recommendations.

“Having considered the remedial actions that UOBKH has taken to address the recommendations, conditions and directions that SGX RegCo has imposed, SGX RegCo is lifting the moratorium with immediate effect,” the regulator said.

Shares of UOBKH closed S$0.01 or 0.6 per cent higher at S$1.59, before the announcement.