The Straits Times / The Business Times News on Cosco

Cosco Directors and Management cash in

NUMEROUS Cosco Corp directors and management have been cashing in on the strong run-up in the shipyard-and-shipping group's share price.

The company last week reported that sales for the first three months of this year rose 63 per cent to hit a record high, while profits rose 46 per cent.

Its share price has reflected the stellar set of results, climbing 29.4 per cent for the year to date, nearly three times more than the 11 per cent gain racked up by the benchmark Straits Times Index.

Cosco shares hit record highs of $1.45 a share on May 3. It closed at $1.43 yesterday.

Chief executive Ji Hai Sheng exercised 800,000 share options on the Friday before the company's first-quarter results announcements on May 2, boosting his total shareholdings to 2.2 million shares.

Others who have exercised their share options include non-executive directors Li Jian Hong and Sun Yue Ying, who each exercised 600,000 options last Wednesday.

Mr Li sold 200,000 shares on the market a day later.

Altogether seven Cosco directors and management staff exercised their share options last week, while six sold their shares on the open market.

Those who sold include alternative directors Liu De Tian and Li Jian Xiong, who sold 926,000 and 200,000 shares respectively. Topping the list is Mr Lee Fook Choy, a director in a Cosco unit who sold 4.2 million share last Wednesday.