Ann: Funding Update, page-228

This thing reeks the more one looks into it.

By all accounts the ADIA announcement should have had the share price flying. But all it did it seems is that it gave insiders and sceptics a final chance to get out. Even after the second, after hours corrective announcement which updated the amount of assets that ADIA had under management to US$850 billion, the selling continued the next day. So one could suspect someone knew that the announced ADIA deal was fake.

There are countless suspect practices in trading on the ASX that I've seen over the years, but I got sucked into this one on the ADIA announcement, reinforced by the second announcement. This was just too important an announcement to get so wrong so I felt, like I'm sure others did, that it was legit - but the trading did not suggest this. Was it intentional? I do't know but it was bad.

This is what I think should happen in a situation like this. It should be a criminal offence to make a false announcement to the ASX for obvious reasons, and the trades made after the announcement are made null and void and be reversed. The responsibility and accountability then would clearly be on the Company executives to get it right and no-one could benefit from an intentionally untrue announcement. Then maybe there may be some transprency and a more level playing field for all those that trade ASX listed companies.

I may be dreaming.