http://www.scmp.com/print/comment/insight-opinion/article/1845429/citic-pacific-transparency-falling-short-sino-iron-project

Citic transparency falls short as Sino Iron swept under the rug

PUBLISHED : Friday, 31 July, 2015, 3:30pm

Shirley YamShirley.yam@scmp.com

Transparency is lost as acquisition of parent eradicates mandatory disclosure requirements relating to stalled Australian mining project

It has been a year since Citic Pacific’s acquisition of its parent Citic Group,  which was billed as the “pioneer” move in  China’s new round of state enterprise reform. So far Citic has announced  reforms in a helicopter subsidiary to allow the hiring of a career manager instead of a party cadre as its chief %executive. This baby step, however, cannot compensate for the significant drop in its transparency following the acquisition. The new black box is called Sino Iron –  a West Australian iron ore mining project  that no one has  any idea  when fully fledged commercial operations will  begin. Thanks to  falling mineral prices and poor  xecution, the project has become a money pit for investor Citic; a shame for  state-owned construction company Metallurgical Corp of China  (MCC); and a political embarrassment to the country. Analysts considered it a key mover in Citic’s value. Yet, there is now little to monitor. A comparison of Citic’s annual reports for the past two years is telling.  In the 2013 report, chairman Chang Zhenming   devoted four-fifths of his report to detailing lessons learned; turn-around efforts and  the project’s bright future.  In the latest report, Chang gave it only one line.

“We have made disclosures above and beyond mandatory requirements … the Sino Iron impairment was another example. It is important that our stakeholders, including minority investors and the public, feel that the lines of communication are always open with the company,” he said.

The truth is the HK$19.5 billion provision made is the only disclosure relating to the project’s financials in the 312-page report. Continue reading →

http://www.wsj.com/articles/noble-groups-drawbridge-down-shorts-cross-moat-overheard-1438285613

Noble Group’s Drawbridge Down; Shorts Cross Moat — Overheard

July 30, 2015 3:46 p.m. ET

With Noble Group’s defenses down, the shorts stormed the castle.

Shares of Noble, the embattled Asian commodities trader, plunged 12% Thursday to a 6½-year low and drew a “trade with caution” warning from the Singapore stock exchange. Noble’s stock has taken a beating in the past few months, as questions have been raised over the sustainability of the company’s profits. Noble has denied accusations about how it accounts for profits, and has also pledged greater transparency. But those moves haven’t prevented investors from increasingly betting against the shares. Noble’s shares on loan, a measure of short interest, have risen above 9%, according to Markit. To fight that pressure, Noble has countered by aggressively buying back its own stock. That may have limited the damage over the past month or so. But under Singapore Stock Exchange rules, Noble can’t buy back stock in the two weeks leading up to its earnings announcement, which is scheduled for Aug 13. That no-trading “blackout” period started Thursday. It could be a long two weeks for Noble’s shares. Continue reading →

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2015/07/202_183859.html

Updated : 2015-07-30 17:06

Daewoo’s $2.6-bil. fiasco

KDB, management, Deloitte share blame

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) Wednesday disclosed an operating loss of 3.03 trillion won or about $2.6 billion on sales of 1.67 trillion won in the second quarter. This disastrous performance is the work of three incompetent parties ― the Korea Development Bank (KDB), the shipbuilder’s previous and current management and accounting firm Deloitte Anjin. As usual, the taxpayers are the victim. The state bank should take the biggest portion of the blame. As the controlling shareholder, it either failed to detect or condoned what has gone wrong with its “subsidiary.” Continue reading →

http://asia.nikkei.com/Features/Accounting-scandal/Newfangled-tech-uncovered-old-fashioned-fraud

July 30, 2015 5:00 pm JST

Newfangled tech uncovered old-fashioned fraud

TOKYO — High-tech sleuthing helped experts recover deleted, old or otherwise buried emails that implicate former Toshiba presidents in years of systematic accounting fraud at the venerable electronics maker. Continue reading →