Civil Penalty Enforcement Action for Insider Trading

Singapore, 20 November 2007...The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has taken civil penalty enforcement action against Ms Angela Yeo Yoke Foong for contravening the insider trading provision under Section 218(2)(a) of the Securities and Futures Act (SFA).

2   System Access Limited (System Access), a company that was listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd (SGX-ST) at the relevant time ^[1], announced on 24 July 2006 that Sungard Asia Pacific Inc. intended to make a conditional cash offer for all the issued ordinary shares of System Access, at a price of $0.36 per share.  After the announcement, System Access' share price closed at $0.345, a 15% increase over the preceding trading day's closing price of $0.30.

3   On 20 March 2006, Ms Yeo, System Access’ Head of Global Human Resources at that time, purchased a total of 50,000 System Access shares while she was in possession of non-public price sensitive information concerning the conditional offer obtained by virtue of her position in System Access. As a result of the purchases, Ms Yeo made a profit of about S$12,000.

4   Ms Yeo has admitted to contravening Section 218(2)(a) of the SFA and has paid a civil penalty of S$50,000 to MAS without court action. Ms Yeo cooperated with MAS in the course of the investigations.

5   This matter was referred to MAS by SGX-ST. Civil penalty investigations were carried out by MAS into the matter in accordance with standard operating procedures.

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Notes to Editor:

(A)  Insider Trading under Section 218(2)(a) of the SFA

Section 218(2)(a) of the SFA prohibits a person who is in possession of material price sensitive information concerning a corporation (to which he is connected), which he knows is material price sensitive and not generally available, from subscribing for, purchasing, selling, or entering into an agreement to subscribe for, purchase or sell those securities of that corporation.

(B) Connected Person

Section 218(5) of the SFA provides that a person is connected to a corporation if - (a) he is an officer of that corporation or of a related corporation; (b) he is a substantial shareholder in that corporation or in a related corporation; or (c) he occupies a position that may reasonably be expected to give him access to information of a kind to which this section applies by virtue of - (i) any professional or business relationship existing between himself (or his employer or a corporation of which he is an officer) and that corporation or a related corporation; or (ii) being an officer of a substantial shareholder in that corporation or in a related corporation.

Section 218(6) of the SFA provides that for the purposes of Section 218(5), an officer in relation to a corporation includes (a) a director, secretary or employee of the corporation; (b) a receiver, or receiver and manager, of property of the corporation; (c) a judicial manager of the corporation; (d) a liquidator of the corporation; and (e) a trustee or other person administering a compromise or arrangement made between the corporation and another person.

(C) Civil Penalty Quantum

Under Section 232 of the SFA, the Court may, if satisfied that a person has contravened a provision in the SFA, Part XII, make an order against that person for the payment of a minimum civil penalty of $50,000.

^[1]  The company was listed on the SGX SESDAQ on 10 June 2005, and was subsequently delisted on 30 November 2006.  The company is presently known as Sungard System Access Singapore Pte Ltd.