Published October 11, 2008

China Printing seeks trading suspension

CEO, deputy CEO not contactable; parent company faces bankruptcy

By LYNETTE KHOO
Email this article
Print article
Feedback

CHINA Printing & Dyeing Holdings has requested a voluntary trading suspension of its shares on Monday, amid the uncertainties surrounding the group after its parent company reportedly went broke.

It is also seeking protection from relevant authorities in Shaoxing County for its assets held under wholly owned subsidiary Zhejiang Jianglong Textiles Printing & Dyeing Co Ltd.

In a filing with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) yesterday, the group's board of directors said that they are unable to comment on market rumours and media speculation.

According to recent media reports, China Printing's parent company Jianglong Holdings faces bankruptcy due to mounting debts, which includes some 200 million yuan (S$43 million) owed to 300 small suppliers, while its chairman and CEO have gone missing.

Jianglong chairman Tao Shou Long is also CEO of China Printing, and his wife Yan Qi, who is CEO of Jianglong, is deputy CEO of China Printing. They are based at the premises of Zhejiang Jianglong at Shaoxing County.

China Printing's independent directors (IDs) said yesterday that the husband and wife, who are also executive directors of the company, have not been contactable since Tuesday, despite repeated attempts to reach them.

'The chief financial officer visited Zhejiang Jianglong's factory in Shaoxing County on Oct 8 and 9 and has verbally informed the independent directors of his preliminary observations,' the IDs said in the SGX filing, without elaborating on what the preliminary observations were.

The IDs said that they 'hope to have better clarity on the state of affairs and financial condition of Zhejiang Jianglong in the near future'.

But according to a source close to China Printing, operations at China Printing and its parent company in China have ceased. The status of these companies needs to be sorted out at this point, the source said.

China Printing secretary Elle Zhang, the only employee located at its office here, told BT that she has not heard anything from the company yet and continues to report for work.

Phone calls made by BT to Zhejiang Jianglong Textile Printing & Dyeing Co Ltd in Shaoxing County suggested that the line was no longer in service and e-mail messages to the company have bounced back.

Mr Tao, his wife, the deputy CEO as well as Ted Wong - the company's consultant who was said to be 'close to the management' - could not be reached. Their mobile phones were turned off.

Temasek Holdings is one of the two limited partners in a Cayman Islands-incorporated private equity fund, New Horizon, that has an 8 per cent stake in China Printing. The other limited partner in this fund is SBI Holdings Inc.

A Temasek spokesman declined to comment, saying that they are a passive investor in the fund.

China Printing had asked the SGX on Wednesday to halt trading of its shares that afternoon after the news broke out in China.

Jianglong Holdings brought China Printing to list in Singapore in September 2006. Its shares were last traded at 2.5 cents, almost a tenth of the value on their listing debut at 27 cents. Although there was no word from the company, the trading volume of its shares spiked on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.