Related: (1) Scouring accounting footnotes to prevent tunnelling; (2) Is Your Forward-Looking Statement Safe Harbor Safe? Federal Appeals Court Reverses Dismissal and Revives Securities Fraud Class Action; Harman International Industries knowingly and recklessly propped up the stock price by making materially false and misleading statements about the company’s financial condition. In April 2007, Harman announced its potential acquisition by a private equity firm. In September 2007, however, Harman announced that the acquisition plan had been abandoned. (3) The trouble with non-binding takeover offers that create a false and manipulated ceiling for the target company’s shares which could be pledged or faced margin calls; There are numerous examples of where such buyouts have ended in tatters and some investors getting burnt; (4) Jade’s ex-president jailed and fined over sham takeover bid to push up its share price; (5) China Cord Blood Corp (NYSE: CO) and Golden Meditech (801 HK): Accounting Facts and Footnotes; (6) Taiwan’s MOF asks banks for details of Chinese loans to two troubled Chinese companies – Frankfurt-listed Chinese shoe company Ultrasonic AG whose executives disappeared with the loan and Golden Meditech (801 HK); TSU raises question of insider trading in Golden Meditech TDRs; FSC boss quizzed on Lien’s Golden Meditech TDRs; (7) 脐带血功效被夸大 中源协和 (Zhongyuan Union Cell & Gene: 600645 CH) 核心业务受困; 胎盘脐带血自费存储乱象; 脐带血：是生命种子，还是炒作噱头？“变了味”的脐带血; 脐带血保存，一场骗局? 血疑——上海市脐血库事件调查; Inside the Private Umbilical Cord Blood Banking Business: Wall Street Journal Analysis Found Dirty Storage, Leaky Blood Samples and Firms Going Under

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cefc-discussions-on-jvs-still-ongoing

CEFC: Discussions on JVs still ongoing

Cai Haoxiang

19 August 2015

Business Times Singapore

CEFC International, the fuel trader whose share price has shot up by more than ten-fold since mid-July, said in an update on Tuesday evening that discussions on its potential joint ventures are still ongoing.

“No definitive terms or formal legal documentation have been agreed, and no binding agreement in relation to the potential joint ventures has been entered into, at this stage,” said CEO and executive director Lu Da Chuan. “Shareholders and potential investors should exercise caution when trading in the shares of the company, as there is no certainty that the potential joint ventures will be agreed or that any similar transaction will materialise,” he said.Mr Lu was previously the manager of the budget analysis and treasury department of PetroChina International, a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroChina, the Chinese oil and gas giant. He became CEFC CEO in February.

He was making the announcement as CEFC’s share price declined for a third day in a row along with reduced volumes, even as more warnings are being sounded about the stock.

The latest cautionary note comes from David Gerald, president and CEO of investor lobby group Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS).

He said retail investors should see “a concern or a red flag” in how CEFC had risen from 2.5 Singapore cents on July 7 to an intraday high of 40.5 cents on Aug 14 without any fundamental change in the company’s business.

Mr Gerald’s statement follows a Singapore Exchange (SGX) advisory on Aug 14 urging caution about dealing in CEFC shares.

SGX’s comments came after the company announced a placement of about 705 million shares at S$0.35 each to raise almost S$250 million.

The money is mainly for the company to expand its trading business, CEFC said. Up to a fifth, however, could be for corporate activities including potential acquisitions and joint ventures.

SGX also noted that buying volume during CEFC’s share price surge from July 10 to Aug 6 was concentrated in a small number of offshore accounts, which accounted for more than 40 per cent of the total traded volume during the period.

On Tuesday, Mr Gerald said he welcomed the various queries and disclosures by SGX.

“SIAS also calls on CEFC, as its duty, to communicate its business strategy and fundamentals to all its investors to enable them to make an informed decision,” it said.

CEFC rallied sharply in mid-July after saying it was in discussions to acquire equity interest in a company that owns a floating storage tank.

It said it was also in discussions with a consortium to acquire equity interest in a company building port facilities and cargo transportation in China.

Earlier in April, the company’s Hong Kong subsidiary set up a joint venture with Rizhao Port Oil Terminal Co to build and operate oil tank storage facilities at the port area in Rizhao city in Shandong, China.

CEFC closed at 34 Singapore cents on Tuesday, down 2.5 cents or 6.8 per cent. It is now valued at S$1.1 billion.