Hanson International Shares Decline Amid Dispute With Goldman Sachs
Jakarta. Shares of Indonesian listed property developer Hanson International dropped 1.9 percent in price on Monday (23/01), the lowest since Nov. 29, amid a dispute between its president director and Goldman Sachs, a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.
Hanson International's shares, traded under the MYRX ticker on IDX, closed at Rp 155, after gaining 0.6 percent last Friday, Jan. 20.
Benny Tjokrosaputro, president director of Hanson International, filed a suit at a Jakarta court on Sept. 8 against the US investment bank for conducting an "unlawful" transaction of 425 million shares that he claimed belonged to him and is seeking Rp 13 trillion ($975 million) in compensation.
However, Goldman Sachs rejected Benny's allegations, saying Goldman Sachs International was the legal owner of the Hanson shares in question as the US banking giant had purchased the shares from New York hedge fund Platinum Partners, in a series of transactions on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from February 2015 until March 2016.
Goldman has since sold most of its Hanson shares on the IDX, but still sits on $22 million worth of shares which have been frozen at the custodian due to a police order.
NH Korindo Securities analyst Bima Setiaji said Hanson shares were closed lower on Monday as investors were taking a wait-and-see stance on the dispute.
However, the negative sentiment will only stay temporarily and will not affect Hanson's businesses as it was only triggered by an individual act, Bima said.
"However, some are expecting that a settlement between the parties in dispute might be imminent," he added.
According to Bima, the outlook on the company's businesses remains strong, having decided to go ahead with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for one of its subsidiaries.
With additional reporting from Reuters
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