ITM Semiconductor Suspected of Share Price Manipulation
16 November, 2019
ITM Semiconductor is suspected of deliberate news manipulation to push up its share price.
ITM on Wednesday morning asked Digital Chosun to remove a news report, citing IT journal the Elec, that the company had been chosen as exclusive supplier of protection circuits for rechargeable batteries for Apple's AirPods Pro.
An hour later, an ITM executive declined to comment when asked by Digital Chosun whether the client was indeed Apple but promised to get back in touch after consulting with other staff.
At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the executive said, "We never said our client is Apple, and the contents of the article are incorrect." When asked if a correction should be published , the executive declined to respond and promised to call back later.
At 2:06 p.m., ITM shares soared to their daily permissible limit and closed at that level. At 3:36 p.m., Baek Seung-yeop, a managing director at parent company Nice Group, telephoned and said, "You don't have to change the article," suggesting that the client is indeed Apple.
In the meantime, the information had been circulated on the Internet, and ITM appears to have delayed responding to queries in order to let its stock price skyrocket.
It is unethical for a publicly listed company to withhold accurate information from shareholders, and ITM's conduct casts grave doubt on its integrity.
Digital Chosun wishes to inform its readers that an article in the Korean-language edition dated Thursday and headlined "ITM Semiconductor Becomes Exclusive Supplier to Apple" has been corrected, and that ITM's client may not be Apple.
ITM has not clearly stated whether the client is Apple and continues to delay responding to queries.
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