Aspen CEO wants FSB probe
The company says its full-year earnings are ‘completely clear’ and that ‘unscrupulous operators’ are abusing fear in the market ‘for their own greed’
Aspen Pharmacare CEO Stephen Saad says he wants an inquiry into market manipulation after the company’s shares slumped on rumours that Viceroy Research was preparing a report on the group. Viceroy, a US research group that published a report about scandal-hit Steinhoff in December, has said it is eyeing another South African company, and the market has speculated that it is Aspen that is in its sights. Aspen’s share price fell 2.5% to R243.81 on Wednesday after falling 4.6% the day before. The stock is down almost 10% so far in January, meaning that investors with short positions would have profited. “I think the right thing here is to have an inquiry. I think people who have made money out of this chaos need to be investigated — is it legal what they’re doing? That’s all I’d like to know, because lots of people have lost money,” Saad said by phone from Mauritius. Given that the market remained jittery after Steinhoff’s revelations, “it’s perfect timing [to manipulate the market] … ...
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