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UBS denies Chinese newspaper’s accusations it misled investors

UBS Securities LLC said it has “diligently” fulfilled its responsibilities as a sponsor of initial public offerings after the Shanghai Securities News published its second report in two days accusing the bank of misleading investors.

“UBS will continue to fulfill its ongoing supervision responsibilities in accordance with the relevant requirements of the China regulatory authorities,” the company, a unit of Switzerland’s biggest bank, said in an e-mailed statement today.

IPO sponsors in China, usually one of the underwriters for a listing, are required to ensure that financial data released by the company selling shares is accurate.

The Shanghai Securities News, a newspaper controlled by China’s official Xinhua News Agency, published a report yesterday about UBS’s role in the IPOs of Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. in Shanghai and BYD Co. in Shenzhen, accusing the bank of having failed to disclose “performance risks” for the companies. The newspaper published a report today on the analysts who worked on the listings.

BYD reported an 88.6 percent decline in first-half net income on Aug. 22 and said profit for the first nine months of this year may fall 85 percent to 95 percent. Pang Da reported a 36.2 percent drop in first-half profit on Aug. 28.