HK actor-producer Raymond Wong gets 5 months’ jail, fined over $16k for insider trading

Hong Kong actor Raymond Wong Pak Ming has been sentenced to five months’ jail and fined HK$99,720 (S$16,400) for insider trading involving his younger sister. The 80-year-old, who is also a well-known movie producer, had earlier been convicted of insider trading dealing in the shares of television production company Pegasus Entertainment Holdings in a criminal prosecution. The veteran entertainer was sentenced on June 9 at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court in Hong Kong. The judge pointed out that Wong had dedicated his life to promoting the development of Hong Kong’s film industry, but in this case damaged public confidence in the securities market. In addition to the fine, Wong was ordered to pay HK$374,305 in investigation costs to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. According to a release issued by SFC on June 9, Wong was earlier convicted of deliberately misusing inside information obtained in his capacity as chairman and controlling shareholder of Pegasus. He decided to advise his sister Jenny Wong to trade in the company’s shares well before that information was disclosed to the market. His fine of HK$99,720 was equivalent to the realised profits his sister earned from her dealing in Pegasus shares. The Court heard that while negotiations were underway in 2017 for Raymond Wong to sell his controlling stake in Pegasus, he became aware of price‐sensitive and non‐public information, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding and the receipt of HK$10 million as earnest money from a potential buyer. Upon receiving the earnest money on Aug 25, 2017, Wong immediately began transferring HK$2 million in total to his sister, who started buying Pegasus shares on the same day. From Aug 30, Wong sent multiple WhatsApp messages to his sister, advising her on the timing and the price to buy Pegasus shares. Consequently, between Aug 25 and Oct 17, 2017, she bought over nine million Pegasus shares at prices well below Pegasus’ ensuing market share price after the deal was announced on Oct 25, 2017. She paid for the vast majority of Pegasus shares she bought with monies Wong had transferred to her. Noting Wong’s sentencing, SFC’s executive director of enforcement Michael Duignan said: “This case highlights the serious consequence of abusing inside information for personal gain. The custodial sentence handed down by the Court underscores that insider dealing can result in immediate imprisonment. “The outcome of this case sends a clear and unequivocal message to the public at large that wrongdoers exploiting inside information will face severe consequences and public accountability, regardless of their status or reputation.” The SFC will continue to take firm enforcement action against insider dealing to protect investors and uphold confidence in Hong Kong’s financial markets, the release said. Wong is currently out on bail of HK$200,000 pending an appeal. He is best known for starring in movies such as the Happy Ghost comedy films in the 1980s and 1990s, and the popular All’s Well, Ends Well comedy film franchise (1992 to 2020), typically released around Chinese New Year.