Report: Yang Ming stock trading suspended amid capital restructuring

Trading of shares in troubled Taiwanese ocean carrier Yang Ming have been suspended on the Taiwan Stock Exchange until at least May 4 as the firm prepares to reduce its equity capital by over 50 percent, according to multiple media reports.    Trading of shares in Taiwanese ocean carrier Yang Ming Transport have been suspended on the Taiwan Stock Exchange as the firm prepares to reduce its equity capital by over 50 percent, according to multiple media reports.
   Stock trading will be suspended until at least May 4 while the firm reduces its share count from 3 billion to 1.4 billion.
   According to a report from maritime news outlet Loadstar, the company’s overall market capital won’t be reduced, however, with the 1.4 billion in shares trading at 13.15 Taiwan new dollars (US $0.40) compared with the current stock price of TWD 6.15.
   Taipei-listed Yang Ming last month reported a loss of TWD 14.91 billion (U.S. $492.1 million) for the full year in 2016 compared with TWD 6.46 billion the previous year as revenues dropped 9.5 percent year-over-year to TWD 115.4 billion.
   Earlier this month Yang Ming said it had raised $54.4 million in an offer of 161.33 million new shares to six investors, both government institutions and private companies.
They are: The National Development Fund of the Taiwan Government, Taiwan Navigation Co., Taiwan Chinachem, T3ex Global Holdings, Mercuries Life Insurance, and Superstar Investment.
   The National Development Fund will hold a 6.39 percent stake in Yang Ming, and the company said it anticipates it “will continue to invest in Yang Ming in subsequent rounds.” Yang Ming said Taiwan’s government, including the Ministry of Transport and Communications, now owns 36.62 percent of the company.