China Zhongwang Holdings, the mainland aluminium producer battling media allegations that it faked parts of its initial public offering prospectus, spooked investors by announcing it would 'clarify' an earlier statement that there was nothing wrong with its share sale document.
Zhongwang said on January 5 that auditor Ernst & Young had reviewed the customer data in its prospectus and found 'no material deficiencies'.
The Liaoning-based aluminium company, which raised HK$9.8 billion on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing last May, suspended its shares from trading on January 7 without explanation.
Late on Tuesday night, Zhongwang added to the confusion by telling the stock exchange it was preparing an announcement to 'clarify certain matters relating to the announcement dated 5 January 2010'.
When contacted, Zhongwang finance director Vincent Cheung Lap-kei would not answer questions on when this next statement was due out, what it might contain or whether investors should be worried.
Shareholders have been on tenterhooks since November, when Zhongwang said it had appointed Ernst & Young to review the data in its prospectus relating to its top 10 customers, as well as its tax payments.
The Economic Observer alleged in September that the top 10 customers Zhongwang named in the IPO document did not buy from the company in 2008. The mainland newspaper later retracted the article and apologised to Zhongwang.
