The Stock Exchange of Thailand is set to launch a probe into share price movements of cash-and-carry retailer Siam Makro.
The inquiry stems from a large number of share acquisitions in the company made prior to a US$6.6bn takeoverfrom convenience store chain CP ALL on April 23.
On April 17, Siam Makro’s stock rose 15 per cent while trading volume rose to 1.6m shares, amidst rumours the deal was soon to be finalised.
When the two companies were suspended from trading on April 22, Siam Makro’s shares had soared nearly 60 per cent since the start of the year.
“It’s our job to investigate any irregularities,”Charamporn Jotikasthira, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, told website Bloomberg.com.
“We have seen it and begun the process to investigate that.”
CP All is controlled by Thai retail magnate Dhanin Chearavanont, who bought Dutch conglomerate SHV Holdings’ 64 per cent stake in Siam Makro.
In 1988, Dhanin's Charoen Pokphand Group set up Siam Makro with SHV Holdings, but sold the majority of his interest in the membership-based discount chain after the financial crisis in 1997.
Siam Makro had 57 stores across Thailand as of the end of 2012, according to the Wall Street Journal.
CP All has revealed plans to expand the discount wholesaler throughout South East Asia and into Pakistan and China.
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