Stocks slip with all eyes on GlobalSoft

STOCKS ended 0.8 per cent down yesterday, paring early gains driven by bank stocks as investors locked in profits.

The all-share benchmark lost 1.17 points to close at 138.15, off an intrasession high of 140.15. Turnover slipped to £5.77 million on 18.4 million shares traded.

Heavyweight banks ended broadly unchanged, with investors largely ignoring a report in a weekly financial newspaper that Laiki was in talks with HSBC, which wanted to up its stake in the bank. Laiki swiftly denied the report.

Traders said market attention was partly diverted by GlobalSoft, and a Securities Commission statement that it had recommended its suspension from trading.

The Securities Commission said on Tuesday it wanted the suspension pending review of a report into possible irregularities committed by the company. Stock Exchange directors, citing lack of available evidence, refused to approve the regulator’s request.

“The law dictates that a decision (for suspension) must be based on evidence, which we do not presently have,” bourse chairman Paris Lenas told reporters. GlobalSoft has not commented on the issue.

Regulators started investigating GlobalSoft after American authorities launched their own inquiry into AremisSoft, its US affiliate, earlier this year.

Former AremisSoft executives had their bank and broker assets frozen by a US federal court in October amid allegations the company had overstated revenues and inflated the value of customer contracts and acquisitions.

AremisSoft owns some seven per cent of the Cypriot concern. One of the former AremisSoft executives cited in the US lawsuit, Lycourgos Kyprianou, is chairman of GlobalSoft.

Its stock lost two cents, or 10 per cent, to close at 16.2 cents on a relatively low volume of 173,479 shares.

Declining issues beat advancing ones 98 to 40 with 28 unchanged on 166 traded. There were 4,570 deals. (R)

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