A Taiwan businessman has been charged with...
A Taiwan businessman has been charged with insider trading in a deal that investigators say netted him a $40-million profit.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said the case against Wang Chao-ching, chairman of China Man-made Fibre Corp., would be passed to Taipei District Court for further investigation. An SEC spokesman said Wang’s was the largest case of alleged insider trading since securities laws were toughened last year.
Wang bought almost 30 million China Man-made shares last June immediately after he told a shareholders meeting that the company’s year-end dividend target had been raised to 820 million Taiwan dollars ($29 million) from 60 million ($2.1 million), the spokesman said.
He said the stock rose 84% in July, 1988, producing a profit of about $40 million for Wang.
Under Taiwan law, insider trading carries a maximum sentence of less than two years in jail. The spokesman said Wang, if convicted, might have to pay compensation to other investors equal to three times his profits.
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