Noble Group rallies 40% amidst huge volume, SGX issues trading query

Noble Group
Noble Group Logo. Reuters

Shares in the embattled commodities trader Noble Group jumped as much as 40 percent to S$0.28 on the Singapore Exchange on Monday.

About 7.2 million shares changed hands by afternoon trades compared to a 30-day average of 9 million shares.

The recent surge in share prices prompted the Singapore Exchange to issue a query to the company regarding its trading activity. Noble is yet to respond to the query.

The Hong Kong-based firm last week completed the sale of Noble American oil business to Vitol U.S. Holdings about $580 million.

Also Read: Malaysian man arrested in KL for duping Singaporean of S$5.4 mln

Vitol, the world's largest oil trader, closed a deal to buy Singapore-listed Noble's oil liquids unit Noble Americas Corp last year.

Noble has been forced to shrink its business, exiting loss-making and non-core operations in order to survive.

Last year, the company announced the surprise departure of its co-Chief Executive Jeff Frase, just days after it reported a third-quarter loss of $1.17 billion and warned that the operating environment remains challenging.

The trader's market capitalization, which once topped $10 billion, has shrunk to $260 million.

This article was first published on January 22, 2018
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