The Securities and Exchange Commission upheld the decision of the Philippine Stock Exchange to delist Calata Corp., an agribusiness company owned by businessman Joseph Calata.
The SEC also affirmed the perpetual ban on Calata’s chairman and president Joseph Calata from becoming a director of any listed company and the disqualification of six other officers of the company, namely Jose Marie Fabella, Halmond Parker Ong, Melvin Calata, Johnny Uy, Edmund Solilapsi and Fr. Conrado Zablan,
Calata was officially delisted from the PSE on December 11, 2017 after the exchange found that the company was liable for multiple violations of disclosure and delisting rules.
The exchange found Calata Corp. committing committed 29 distinct violations of disclosure rules when it failed to timely disclose changes in the shareholdings of its directors and principal officers.
The rules state that directors and principal officers of a listed company must disclose to the PSE any “acquisition, disposal, or change” in their shareholdings within five trading days.
The PSE said Joseph Calata made multiple trades of Calata shares between November 29, 2016 and March 16, 2017. But the corporation only disclosed these trades on June 23, 2017, which is already beyond the required five trading days.
Joseph Calata also made multiple trades of Calata shares from April 20, 2017 to June 20, 2017. But the company only disclosed the trades on July 7, 2017, which is also beyond the required five trading days.
The agribusiness firm committed 26 violations of the blackout rule when it executed trades during a “Blackout Period,” when the officers were the only ones in possession of material non-public information.
The rules state that “a director or principal officer of an issuer must not deal in the issuer’s securities during the period within which a material non-public information is obtained and up to two full trading days after the price-sensitive The SEC noted that Joseph Calata consistently conceded that the trades were executed while they were in possession of material non-public information and that there was a failure to disclose the same to the PSE.
