Tokyo Stock Exchange: image via Wikipedia
That insider training is endemic at all major stock exchanges is a modern-day legend. Evidential proof of insider trading is also notoriously difficult. Regulators are usually more concerned about the more “sexy” malfeasance a la Enron or a Madoff but usually long after the event and where recovery of losses is insignificant (Madoff caused 65 billion of losses and auction of his personal possessions by US Marshalls raised just 2 million dollars). If I am a little cynical it is because the actual creation and growth of real wealth (by actually making things that are wanted or providing real services that are needed) seems to be less important and less appreciated than the inflating of values (by creation of bubbles) and redistributing the artificially created “wealth” by “smart” methods.
Many of the statements and actions of the regulators are mainly for public relations purposes and sometimes lead to a few high-profile prosecutions. It is very rare for any small investors to recover what they may have lost as a consequence of fraud. Nevertheless it is always good to see the regulators have some success. Asahi News reports that
Financial authorities are taking action to prevent what has been embarrassingly described as “rampant” insider trading through short selling on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) is looking into allegations of insider trading of certain stocks on the TSE, but declined to disclose the issues or amount traded. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the TSE, meanwhile, are considering tighter rules on short selling.
“We hear from overseas investors that insider trading is rampant in Japan. It’s a grave issue,” a senior TSE official said. In short selling, investors borrow shares from brokerages or stockholders under expectations the price will drop. They sell them and buy them back for a profit after the price drops, returning the same number of shares to the lender.
Insider trading suspicions have been raised over the public stock offerings by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), Nippon Sheet Glass Co. and INPEX Corp., which were announced between July and September. The stock prices of all three firms plunged before the announcements of their public stock offerings.
TEPCO, for example, made public it would raise 550 billion yen ($6.6 billion) on Sept. 29 at 4:30 p.m.–after the close of trading. Earlier in the day, however, large volumes of TEPCO stock, six to 10 times more than usual, were traded mainly through short selling, with the issue closing 7.8 percent lower than the previous day. Likewise, there was a surge in short sales of Nippon Sheet Glass Co. and INPEX Corp. shares, causing the prices of both stocks to fall just before the companies announced their capital increase plans.
Companies issue public stock offerings to secure funds from a large number of unspecified investors by issuing new shares. Because it increases the total number of the company’s shares, the value per share drops, leading to lower stock prices in the short run. “I’m sure information got out beforehand,” a market source said about the recent cases. “Foreign hedge funds sold in large volumes.” These suspicions are nothing new. “Often, after receiving many inquiries in the morning from foreign investment banks on how many shares of a particular stock we have, we find a capital increase announcement by the company. There was such an incident just recently,” said a senior official at a securities company. An SESC official said: “If we do nothing about such practices, we could lose credibility of Japanese markets. If there are allegations, we intend to investigate and crack down on them.” One apparent source of inside information is a “demand survey” on institutional investors conducted in advance by brokerages that handle public stock offerings. The survey is intended to gauge the enthusiasm of institutional investors to see if the capital increase plan would go well. But an SESC official said, “People who got the information beforehand could abuse it.”
The SESC has already taken action. Following the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s issue of about 300 billion yen worth of preferred stock in 2003, the SESC revealed in 2004 and 2006 that employees of investment corporations in Singapore and Britain had been involved in illegal trading of the shares, using information they obtained beforehand. But such investigations take time because the SESC needs to exchange information with overseas regulatory authorities. The investigation involving Singapore spanned a year and a half. The one concerning the British investment corporation required three and a half years.
Both the FSA and the TSE are considering limiting short selling for a defined period after an announcement of a capital increase–until the issue price of the new stock is determined. Under a U.S. regulation introduced in the late 1990s, investors who conducted short selling within five business days before the issue price is set are prohibited from buying new shares issued through a capital increase.
“A (regulation) system has been established in the Untied States, but apparently not in Europe. We need to look into the background, and it will take some time before we reach a conclusion,” a senior FSA official said.
The k2p blog 