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HQ shares spike after approval of fund sale

Swedish investment firm Öresund has been has been authorized by the Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen - FI) to buy its investment fund operation HQ Fonder.

Published: 14 June 2010 15:35 CEST

HQ shares rose sharply after the news. Öresund will finance the purchase with its own resources and hopes the deal can proceed without loans, the company said in a statement.

Öresund has also issued an option to HQ, through which it will make it possible to buy back HQ under similar conditions.

HQ needs money to cover losses from speculative deals it has made. HQ shares have been weak since mid-April, when the company reported a lower profit for the first quarter.

However, the first real cold shower for shareholders came on May 26th, when the company was flagged for a “forced liquidation” of its trading operations and a new share issue of more than half a billion kronor ($64 million).

Last week, it became clear that HQ needed more money originally flagged, and immediately. Consequently, it has sold its subsidiary HQ Fonder to its principal owner Öresund, while the previous issue was scrapped in favour of an even larger issue of up to 1 billion kronor.

FI is closely following HQ’s developments closely, but certain details from the review have not yet been revealed.

HQ shares rebounded in trading on Monday morning. The news at lunchtime of FI’s clearance gave shares even more momentum. By 1:30pm, shares had risen by nearly 26 percent.

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How to avoid falling victim to tax scams in Sweden

Anyone who earned more than 22,208 kronor last year received their tax returns digitally last week, marking the start of tax season.

That also means an expected peak in tax-related scams, Skatteverket warns.

Most of the scams are so-called phishing scams, meaning attempts to steal the victims’ personal information. Fraudsters may for example email a person, pretending to represent Skatteverket, and ask them for, among other things, their banking details.

“We’re seeing these in all channels. They use fake emails, SMS, letters and in some cases even phone calls. It is particularly common in tax declaration times – just when we’re about to send out the tax returns, the e-service opens and it’s possible to declare – but above all when it’s time for tax rebates,” Jan Janowski, a Skatteverket expert, told Swedish news agency TT.

A scam email might for example state that you’re entitled to a tax rebate and that you should click a link to receive it. Don’t click any links, open any attachments or reply to the message. Skatteverket advises that you immediately delete the email or text message.

Another common scam is that you receive a text message claiming to be from Skatteverket, telling you that you owe them money and you need to log in to calculate the amount. The website you’re urged to log in via does not belong to Skatteverket. Don’t click the link.

The agency stresses that it never asks people for their banking details. The exception is that you may be asked for your bank account information if you log into Skatteverket’s website to declare your taxes, but that always first requires you to log into the site.

To receive your tax rebate, you need to inform Skatteverket of your bank account number. You do this not by clicking a link in an email or SMS, but by logging into their website using a digital ID, for example BankID, and submitting your details. Only do this on your own initiative. If someone calls you and asks you to log in with your BankID during the phone call, don’t do it. That’s another common scam.

Skatteverket will also never call you to ask for your bank account or credit card number.

It will be possible to declare your taxes from March 19th. You’ll receive any tax rebate you’re owed by mid-April or early June, depending on when you submit your tax return. These are the dates when fraudsters are likely to attempt the most scams.

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