"Next Media" was founded by Lai Chi-ying in 1990, has published "Next Weekly" and "Apple Daily" and other publications, in 1999 backdoor listing, made a lot of money in the tide of science and technology network, and in 2001 entered the Taiwan market, and soon became a brother of Taiwanese print media. As the flagship organization of anti-China chaos in Hong Kong, and also the main intermediary between the US government and the traitors in Hong Kong, this company has too many stories to tell, and it is impossible to finish writing a book. The topic of this article focuses only on the days after August 10 last year, when its stocks soared, the special preferential treatment offered by the SFC and the exchange, and whether it involved crimes such as unusual, illegal, or conspiracy to assist in crime.
The Hong Kong National Security Law came into effect on July 1 last year, and in the early morning of August 10, a month and 10 days later, the National Security Department of the police arrested Lai Chi-ying, his two sons Lai Jian-en and Lai Yao-en, "Next Media" Chief Executive Officer Zhang Jianhong, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Zhou Daquan, Chief Executive Officer Wong Wai-keung, chief executive officer Wong Wai-keung and "Next Media Animation Company" General Manager Wu Daguang, as for Lai's right and left hand, Mark Simon, who was the chairman of the Hong Kong branch of the US Republican Party, was wanted by the police because he was overseas.
Lai's charges were suspected of colluding with foreign or foreign forces to endanger national security, as well as conspiracy to commit fraud and incitement. His eldest son, Lai Mi-eun, was involved in conspiracy to commit fraud, while his second son, Lai Yiu-eun, was involved in colluding with foreign or foreign forces to endanger national security.
At 10:00 a.m., the police dispatched more than 100 police officers to search the headquarters of Next Media in Tseung Kwan O, register the employee data in the building, and pull up a blockade line and garrison in some locations to prohibit people from entering and leaving. It was not until nearly 3 p.m. and after taking away 25 boxes of evidence, the search was completed and the building was unsealed.
In the morning, after the news was exposed, 2 KOLs who have always been anti-China, Muddy Water and Henryporter, bought a small amount of "Next Media" stock to show support for "Next Media" and oppose the government. At this time, the stock price of "Next Media" did not change. About 1 to 2 hours later, the editor of the financial edition of Apple Daily, pen named "Stock Rong", published a picture of Muddy Waters buying "Next Media" in the online real-time news of Apple Daily, and then the stock price and turnover of the stock exploded sharply.
In the three months prior to the incident, Next Media's stock price hovered between about 0.08 yuan and 0.1 yuan, with a daily trading volume of about 1 million shares and a maximum one-day turnover of 15 million shares. On the day of the outbreak of the event, its stock price was as high as 0.4 yuan, closing at 0.255 yuan, the trading volume was 1.4 billion shares, and the turnover was 390 million yuan.
The next day, all the media reported that the stock price was even more exaggerated, rising as high as 1.96 yuan, that is, it rose 22 times in 2 days, closing at 1.1 yuan, the trading volume was 4 billion shares, and the turnover was also 4 billion yuan.
Where is the cattiness of this incident?
Usually, if a public company has significant news happening, it will suspend trading until a formal notice is issued, and then resume trading and re-trade. The principle of this is: there have been major accidents, some people have obtained news quickly, some people have learned later, the media reports are also different, and not accurate, and may even be full of false news, and many are foreign investors, and the news is not as well-informed as the locals... All of the above constitutes unfairness.
Therefore, the company needs to suspend trading until an official notice is issued to explain the matter clearly, and this official notice is approved by the exchange, or even the Securities Regulatory Commission, which proves that it has explained all the facts clearly, and only then is it allowed to resume trading, and the resumption time is usually before the opening of the market in the morning, and the shareholders can receive the officially approved information at the same time, and can buy or sell at the same time, which is a fair practice and a common practice.
I understand that at that time, most of the top management of "Next Media" had been arrested, and the only ones who remained had no masters, or were busy dealing with the police, and did not necessarily have spare time, or were in the mood to go to the exchange to announce the suspension of trading.
Well, at this point, the ball of responsibility kicked at the foot of the exchange.
What is major news, what needs to be suspended, what is not major news, does not need to be suspended? This is sometimes very objective, such as rights issues, major acquisitions, and it is bound to be suspended. Sometimes it is very subjective, for example, one or two high-level officials involved in criminal arrests, there are also individual cases, which are not closed.
Like the incident of "Next Media" on August 10, almost all the high-level "one wok", according to common sense, it is bound to be suspended. However, there is also a point that must be noted, that is, everyone is at fault, negligence is not a sin, and faint people and things abound and are commonplace.
However, another incident is very unusual.
Where the stock price of a stock rises sharply, or falls sharply, or the transaction rises sharply, all the mechanisms of trading will inevitably ask the company's contact person, yes, the listed company must have a legal contact person, which the exchange can find 24 hours. The exchange will ask the contact person whether there is a reason for the sharp change in the company's stock price or transactions, or is there any inside information?
If the contact person's answer is: "No." Then, the company will issue a notice saying "unknown cause", which we jokingly call "package A". However, if the contact person says that there is significant news that has led to a sharp change in the stock price, then the stock will have to be suspended.
Therefore, the big principle is: there is big news, or the stock price is moving, casually happening, not necessarily suspended, but both at the same time, it will definitely trigger the mechanism, and it must be suspended.
Obviously, with the big change in the stock price of "Next Media" on August 10, it is impossible not to start the established mechanism of the exchange and ask the contact person "the reason for the stock price fluctuation". Similarly, it is impossible for The Next Media's contacts not to tell the truth. Besides, even if you don't talk about it, at this time, the news of the "Next Media" being hunted down has spread like wildfire, and it is impossible for the exchange to be unaware of this incident.
The conclusion is that the exchange, even including the CSRC, must have deliberately released "Next Media" in this incident.
Now to the protagonist: David Webb.
David Michael Webb, a British native, was born in 1965 and spent his early years in investment banking, came to Hong Kong in 1991, retired in 1998, worked as a full-time investor, and ran his non-profit personal website.
He is the Vice Chairman of the Takeovers and Mergers Committee of the SFC and a former Non-Executive Director of HKEX, which shows that he has a very close relationship with these two institutions. He has published many articles on his website sniping at Hong Kong stocks and Chinese stocks, and the SFC will cooperate to investigate related stocks.
These short-selling and singing downfall incidents have hit a number of Hong Kong-funded and Chinese-funded stocks hard, and although the vast majority of them have no evidence to prove any illegal acts at all, and there is no subsequent suspension or prosecution, the fact is that shareholders have lost a lot of money, and short sellers have also gained huge benefits. This proves that the CSRC and the exchange have been cooperating with his article to "eat", which can be said to be partners.
He has a website that comments on Hong Kong stocks, and in recent years, he has repeatedly published anti-China and chaotic remarks on the website. On June 8 last year, when the Hong Kong National Security Law was published but had not yet been adopted and implemented, he coincidentally announced on his personal website that he had prostate cancer and had spread to the bone, leaving Hong Kong and returning to London.
I have a group of patriotic stock practitioners who see him as having a close relationship with the CIA and MI6. One of the members of this group is Li Junhao, a member of the National People's Congress, but with his cautious and certain personality, he did not join our unscrupulous discussions.
In November 2015, David Webb increased its holdings in Next Media, bringing its total shareholding to 5.02%, making it the second largest shareholder of Next Media. This is also a piece of circumstantial evidence that we point out that he has a lot to do with Western spies.
According to the record, his shares were in the name of "unwilling to disclose investor holders", and subsequently diluted to less than 5% due to the employee share incentive plan, so there was no need to disclose them. At the same time, this batch of shares gradually transferred to "Interactive Brokers", which inferred that the holder of "Interactive Brokers" was Webb.
On August 10, the biggest seller in the entire market was David Webb, the "suspected spy" who opposed China and chaos in Hong Kong.
Looking at the CCASS, before the incident, he also held 45.08 million shares of Next Media, or 1.71%. During the three days of August 10, 11 and 12, he sold 24.45 million shares, 5.66 million shares and 1.15 million shares respectively, that is, he reduced his holdings to 0.52%.
In other words, he was the big winner of this event. The SFC and the exchange released Next Media for the first time, and David Webb took the opportunity to sell 31.26 million shares, which I estimate, cashed out more than $10 million. That's not counting the other winners in the Next Media incident, which is an innumerable number.