South Korea's financial regulators believe a potential US listing of SK hynix subsidiary Solidigm would violate restrictions on dual listings, Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Lee Chan-jin said Monday, though authorities have yet to determine whether they can intervene.
"Both the Financial Services Commission and the FSS believe it runs afoul of dual-listing restrictions," Lee said during a parliamentary audit.
His remarks came in response to Rep. Park Seong-hoon of the People Power Party, who criticized SK hynix for disclosing potential risks to its share price from a subsidiary listing in US securities filings without providing similar explanations to Korean shareholders.
Lee said regulators were awaiting a legal interpretation on whether Solidigm would be subject to Korean securities filing requirements. He stopped short of suggesting authorities would block the listing.
Solidigm was formed following SK hynix's acquisition of Intel's NAND flash memory and solid-state drive business. Reports of a potential US initial public offering have raised concerns that a separate listing could undermine the parent company's shareholder value.
Lee said he would consider raising those concerns with SK hynix, adding, "We will do as much as we can where appropriate action is possible."
jwc@heraldcorp.com
