The president and chief executive of More Return Plc (MORE) is planning to seek new partners to soak up the company's 1.5 billion shares now in the hands of more than 10 securities firms for 1 baht apiece, down from the last publicly traded price of 1.37 baht before the stock was suspended from trade on Nov 14.
Speaking to the public for the first time since the news broke about suspicious trading of MORE stocks that led to the suspension on Monday, Ummarit Llomchitcharoen said on Tuesday he checked with other major shareholders about the abnormal buy and sell orders of the company's shares on Nov 10-11.
All denied any involvement in the transactions, though Apimuk Bamrungwong, the fourth-largest shareholder of MORE, said he made a purchase of more than 1.5 billion shares through more than 10 brokers, but defaulted on payment which was due for settlement on Monday, according to Mr Ummarit.
MORE shares are listed on the Market for Alternative Investment.
Mr Apimuk said he has not sold any shares of MORE and maintained a 8.98% stake in the company with 586,778,233 shares, Mr Ummarit told investment website Mitihoon Live.
Mr Ummarit said he confirmed with Mr Apimuk that the president has not sold any shares and still holds a total of 1,547,200.165 shares, a 23.69% stake.
"I don't know who sold the shares, so I asked the Stock Exchange of Thailand [SET] to provide an updated list of shareholders. The answer should be known later today," said Mr Ummarit.
He urged regulators and the police to pursue an investigation into the suspicious transactions as damage has already occurred to brokers and investors.
The SET announced Monday the suspension of trade for MORE shares from Nov 15 to Friday as material information for investors to make decisions about the stock are still unclear.
The stock fell to the floor price for two consecutive days, declining 60% from 2.78 baht to 1.37 baht before the SET announced the suspension, putting the SP sign on shares late Monday.
"It appears there were defaults in settlement for a significant amount between certain brokers and investors involved in the abnormal trades," said the bourse.
"Nonetheless, the clearing and settlement between the central clearing house and all brokers was completed successfully as usual."
The SET consulted with the regulatory agency about the suspicious transactions and was advised the temporary suspension of trading MORE stock should help with the process of fact finding and evidence gathering of transactions related to the abnormal trading, said the exchange.
Mr Ummarit said he believes once the SP sign is removed, the price of MORE will fall further because brokers must sell their inventory of shares at any price to retrieve cash.
"I propose to brokers that I will help both brokers and investors by seeking new partners to buy shares from brokers at a price of 1 baht, which should be an attractive price to invest in the company," he said.
The plan, however, has not been discussed with any broker yet, said Mr Ummarit.
