SEC ACTION ON ABRA MINING NEEDED

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should "motu propio" probe the sale of unlisted stocks by officials of Abra Mining and Industrial Corporation, traded under the symbol, AR, to bring the long arm of the law against the perpetrators of the deed.

This is what some investors who bought shares of AR want since such an SEC action will send a clear signal to the investing community that, in the stock market game, no one can flout the law.

This will also test the experience of SEC Chairman Emil Aquino, who at one time headed the prosecution group of the commission during the time of then SEC Chairman Rosario N. Lopez, that has been dubbed as the Golden Age of the SEC, when it was winning cases before the courts.

Abra Mining was suspended last March 4, 2021, before the start of trading due to findings by the Philippine Depository and Trust Corporation (PDTC) on its lodgment of shares.

Based on PSE's findings that led to the suspension of the trading of shares of Abra Mining:

The number of the Company's fully paid issued and outstanding shares exceeds the number of listed shares, in contravention of PSE's rule that all fully paid issued and outstanding shares should be applied for listing;

The number of the Company's shares lodged with PDTC exceeds the number of the Company's listed shares, in contravention of PSE's rule that only securities approved for listing should be lodged with PDTC for trading, and;

The number of the Company's shares lodged with PDTC exceeds the number of the Company's issued and outstanding shares (as contained in the Company's audited financial statements) which means that shares not yet reflected in the books of the Company have been lodged with PDTC and are being traded, in contravention of the provisions of the Revised Corporation Code.

As per the Company's website, the officials of Abra Mining are as follows:

The Board of Directors include Jeremias B. Beloy - Chairman; James G. Beloy - Director; Yu Ting Guan - Independent Director; Ma. Belinda T. Gaskell - Independent Director; Premy Ann G. Beloy - Director

Trading of Abra Mining shares, including the unlisted shares, rose in January as investors bought into the stock.

Abra Mining had accounted for 77% of the market's daily trading before the stock's March 4 suspension.

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