The High Court has handed out hefty fines to two shareholders in Oceania Natural after they admitted to charges of market manipulation and disclosure breaches.
Stock exchange Photo: 123RF
Zhongyang (Sean) Meng and Jiashun (Sam) Qian have been ordered to pay pecuniary penalties of $180,000 and $130,000 respectively for market manipulation and disclosure breaches involving the trading of Oceania Natural shares, shortly after the company first listed on the NZX six years ago.
Oceania Natural - which made food and supplement products sourced from New Zealand and the Cook Islands - was delisted about two years later and placed into liquidation in 2019.
"We welcome this judgment as it shows there are considerable penalties for those who breach market manipulation prohibitions," said Karen Chang, head of enforcement at Financial Markets Authority.
"We have no tolerance for misconduct of this nature as it can significantly undermine the integrity of New Zealand's markets and investor confidence."
She said market disclosure obligations were part of an overall disclosure regime and a central tenet of transparent markets.
"Directors should remain aware of their disclosure obligations, especially when trading their own company's shares - even on behalf of others, such as in this case," she said.
Meng was a shareholder and director of Oceania Natural, as well as a director of Meng & Associates, an accounting firm that provided services to, and shared office space with, Oceania Natural.
Qian was an Oceania Natural shareholder and accountant for Meng & Associates, but did not have any governance role in Oceania Natural.
Two other two defendants - Wei (Walker) Zhong and Lei (Regina) Ding - defended the case brought against them.
Their trial concluded on 9 March, with Justice Michael Robinson reserving his decision.
