It’s been nearly a month since shares of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd’s shares were suspended and there has been no indication about when would trading in them would resume. Many believe that much depends on the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission which issued a statement stating that an on-going investigation was underway in the company’s affair. The company which is engaged in the manufacture of equipment for solar panels for on the other hand has issued any statement concerning the reasons for the suspension. Many analysts on the street believe that the suspension could last for months or even years.
It is imperative to state that CEO of the company issued a statement earlier stating that the news about the suspension were merely rumours. It was only after this statement that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission issued a statement clarifying that it had indeed begun an investigation on the company. Many analysts on the street believe that even though there has been a suspension on the shares of the company, there has been off market transactions in the stock with more than 26 billion shares changing hands.
There are suspicions that the SFC could seek court orders if it were to believe that executives of the company had defrauded investors by disseminating false information to freeze the assets of the company. It is imperative to state that since Hong Kong does not have a legal mechanism for class action lawsuits it would be left to the SFC to determine the amount and who should be compensated. It is important to indicate at this juncture that no criminal charges have been filed by the SFC against any of the executives at the current moment. But there have been precedents set in the past which shows that the SFC could file criminal charges.