The SCMP Group has proposed a share buy-back plan which if pushed through could delist the publisher of the South China Morning Post from the local bourse.

The announcement of the planned share buy-back plan was posted yesterday on the stock exchange website.

SCMP said that the plan to buy back its shares would solve the current public float status of the company. This has caused the publishing group to suspend the trading of its shares in Hong Kong since last year.

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The plan still awaits regulatory approval and shareholders' votes whether to push through with the share buy-back or not.

SCMP Group CEO Robin Hu said the company remains business-as-usual despite the current status of trading on the stock exchange. He also added that the number of global readers has increased and the thrust initiatives growth has also borne fruit.

The company aims to solve the public float situation by looking at all possible options, Hu said. Furthermore, Hu added that SCMP is looking to protect both minority and majority shareholders.

The shares of the company were halted last February 26, 2013 after its stock portion held by independent shareholders slumped 10.59 percent of the total issued shares. Hong Kong mandates companies listed on the bourse to publicly float a minimum of 25 percent issued shares. Trading would be halted if the number falls below the required percentage.

SCMP also issued a statement saying it has identified three probable options to solve the public float issue.

The first option said that the major shareholders in the company, including Silchester and Kerry Merry Media, would be required to sell their shares in proportion to the percentage needed for the shares to publicly afloat. SCMP would also require its major shareholders to agree not to purchase more shares of the company within a given time.

The second option calls for shares delisting by major shareholders and make an all-cash offer to all outstanding shareholders of SCMP Group.

The third option is for SCMP Group to buy back the shares from outstanding shareholders.

Meanwhile, the first two options could not push through without the support of the company’s major shareholders, prompting the SCMP board to consider the share buy-back plan option.

TagsSCMP Group, South China Morning Post, share buy-back, Robin Hu, Hong Kong