LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's markets watchdog on Wednesday issued a penalty to hedge fund Asia Research and Capital Management (ARCM) for failing to be transparent over a short position in Premier Oil (L:PMO) in its first short-selling fine.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined ARCM 873,118 pounds ($1.13 million) for repeatedly breaching reporting rules and failing to provide important information to both the regulator and the market.
Between Feb. 24, 2017 and July 5, 2019, ARCM failed to make 155 notifications to the FCA and 153 disclosures to the public of its net short position in Premier Oil. By July 2019, it had built a net short position equivalent to 16.85% of the issued share capital in Premier Oil.
ARCM only notified the FCA and disclosed its position to the market after a further 106 trading days.
"This fine reflects the seriousness of these breaches," said Mark Steward, the FCA's head of enforcement and market oversight.
ARCM qualified for a 30% fine reduction for cooperating with the FCA.
