Pine Capital hit by allegations of control lapses, conflict of interest; requests trading suspension
SINGAPORE (Mar 22): Pine Capital Group’s board of directors have asked for a trading suspension with immediate effect.
This comes after receiving “numerous allegations from various parties” concerning the group’s subsidiary, Advance Capital Partners Asset Management (ACPAM), including those of potential conflict of interest and possible lapses in internal control, since Jan 2019.
At the same time, Pine Capital says ACPAM received a Mar 19 notice of termination for a management agreement between Advance Opportunities Fund I (AOF I) and ACPAM.
In its filing on Thursday, Pine Capital says it has been looking into the abovementioned allegations and needs time to gather the relevant information and take the necessary actions to address these issues, subject to appropriate advice.
In view of these allegations of ACPAM and the management agreement termination, Pine Capital’s board has concluded that there is “no clarity on the state of the affairs of the company”, such that it is unable to ascertain that all material information of the company and its operations have been announced and disclosed.
Meanwhile, the group says it will appoint an independent reviewer to investigate the allegations against ACPAM, and announce the details and scope of review in due course.
Shares in Pine Capital closed 50% lower at 0.1 cent at the close of Thursday, prior to the announcement.
