Asiasons Run

What lies behind Asiasons' run-up?BYANGELA TAN ANGELAT@SPH.COM.SGPRINT |EMAIL THIS

ARTICLENot surprising, the latest share price hike prompted the Singapore Exchange to query the
company again on Wednesday - the regulator's second query after the first on Sept 9 - PHOTO:
SPHIT CAN be an investor's dream or nightmare. In just a week, Asiasons Capital Ltd, a Singapore-
listed Malaysian- based investment group, saw its share price more than double from its last traded
price of $1.325 on Sept 12 to $2.72 yesterday. This came after shares in the company resumed
trading following a trading halt from Sept 13 to Sept 16 pending an announcement.When the
announcement finally came on Sept 17, the company said it was planning to buy 27.5 per cent of
Houston-based Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations LLC's common voting units for US$171.65
million, payable in new shares. It also revealed that it would be placing about 212.59 million new
shares to four new investors at $1.1948 each to raise some $254 million in additional funds.The two
pieces of news sent Asiasons shares rallying from $1.41 at the open to close at $2.05, up 72.5 cents
or 55 per cent. More than 22 million shares changed hands. The stock continued to defy the general
cautious market sentiment and continued its ascent to an intra-day high of $2.91 yesterday before
ending at $2.72, a staggering 105 per cent increase from its last traded price prior to its pre-
announcement trading halt.Not surprising, the latest share price hike prompted the Singapore
Exchange to query the company again on Wednesday - the regulator's second query after the first
on Sept 9.Subscribers, log in here to read the full story. If you do not have an
account, subscribe here.MORE SHARING SERVICES SHARE SHARE ON FACEBOOK FACEBOOK SHARE
ON TWITTER TWITTER SHARE ON LINKEDIN LINKED IN SHARE ON DIGG DIGG PRINT | EMAIL THIS A