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Yes these developments are interesting and shocking imo and make me consider stepping to the sidelines for more clarity.
SINO-FOREST RESPONDS TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL ARTICLE
TORONTO, June 20, 2011 /CNW/ - Sino-Forest Corporation (TSX: TRE) ("Sino-Forest" or the "Company"), a leading commercial forest plantation operator in China, today made the following statement in response to the incorrect portrayal of its business provided by The Globe and Mail in an article published on Saturday, June 18th.
At the heart of The Globe and Mail's article is the assertion that there is a discrepancy between the Company's public disclosure regarding its 2007 Master Agreement with Gengma Dai and Wa Tribes Autonomous County Forestry Limited ("Gengma Dai and Wa") for the purchase of plantations in the province of Yunnan (the "Master Agreement" - filed in the dataroom on the Company's website), acquisitions made under it, and the description of the Master Agreement and related acquisitions that was apparently provided by Gengma Dai and Wa to The Globe and Mail. There is no discrepancy.
The Chairman of Gengma Dai and Wa, Mr. Xie Hongting, was introduced by Sino-Forest to The Globe and Mail in an open attempt to address some of its many questions. After the interview with Mr. Xie, the Company had its own background interview with The Globe and Mail, during which it became clear there were some factual misunderstandings regarding the Company's ownership of trees in Yunnan. The Company informed The Globe and Mail that Mr. Xie would clarify the relationship between both parties. However, The Globe and Mail chose not to wait for Gengma Dai and Wa's complete description of its relationship with Sino-Forest.
The Company has provided the following status update with respect to its Yunnan tree ownership resulting from the Master Agreement entered into with Gengma Dai and Wa in 2007:
Sino-Forest entered into the first Yunnan Master Agreement in 2007 (filed in the dataroom on the Company's website). The Master Agreement had a target to acquire 'approximately' 200,000 hectares (3 million mu - mu being the common Chinese unit of land measurement that is equivalent to 1/15th of a hectare) of standing timber. The Master Agreement does not specify a maximum amount of standing timber to be acquired under the Agreement (the phrase "up to" in The Globe and Mail article is inaccurate and not a reflection of the Company's public disclosures on this matter). As per Sino-Forest's 2010 Annual Information Form, the Company had acquired 190,300 hectares (2.855 million mu) under the Master Agreement and retained holdings of 186,700 hectares (2.8 million mu) as at December 31, 2010. As per the Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) that accompanied the financial statements for the first quarter 2011, the Company had acquired approximately a total of 230,200 hectares (3.453 million mu) under the Master Agreement as of March 31, 2011.
In 2007, through its subsidiaries, the Company entered into specific agreements to acquire standing timber and land use rights on 12,667 hectares (190,000 mu) of Gengma Dai and Wa's land in Lincang City, Yunnan Province. A sample of these agreements have previously been published on the Company's website.
Subsequent to that initial sale, Gengma Dai and Wa has sold approximately 34,667 hectares (520,000 mu) of standing timber located in Lincang City, Yunnan Province to subsidiaries of the Company. Of this amount approximately 12,000 hectares (180,000 mu) was standing timber owned by Gengma Dai and Wa, and approximately 22,667 hectares (340,000 mu) was standing timber sold to the Company by others. Gengma Dai and Wa acted as a purchasing agent in those transactions, by arranging the sales of bundles of standing timber parcels to the Company and its subsidiaries by the owners of such standing timber.
In addition, Gengma Dai and Wa has acted as the Company's purchasing agent, under the Master Agreement, for the purchase of other standing timber elsewhere in Yunnan Province, beyond Lincang City, totalling approximately 182,867 hectares (2.743 million mu).
As a result, in total under the Master Agreement, the Company through its subsidiaries has acquired standing timber of 182,867 hectares (2.743 million mu), plus 34,667 hectares (520,000 mu) and 12,667 hectares (190,000 mu), for a total of approximately 230,200 hectares, or approximately 3.453 million mu.
Gengma Dai and Wa is currently continuing to work with the Company on further purchases in Lincang City, Yunnan Province.
This breakdown is completely consistent with the Company's public disclosure of its total acquisitions of standing timber hectares in Yunnan Province in its first quarter 2011 MD&A of 230,200 hectares (3.453 million mu) acquired pursuant to the Yunnan Master Agreement and is also consistent with the comments of Mr. Xie of Gengma Dai and Wa to The Globe and Mail. When asked in the interview how much he has sold to Sino-Forest, he accurately says he has sold the Company "almost 200,000 mu" (13,333 hectares) which represents land use rights on land provided by Gengma Dai and Wa and is an approximate total of the Company's land lease certificates in Yunnan. In addition, Gengma Dai and Wa has sold standing timber for a total of another 34,667 hectares (520,000 mu) in Lincang City both as owner and as agent, and acted as an agent on another 182,867 hectares (2.743 million mu) elsewhere in Yunnan Province. For further clarity, the Company attaches Gengma Dai and Wa's own statement on this matter which was issued over the weekend, again consistent with what the Company has set out above. This is the clarification that the Company asked The Globe and Mail to wait for prior to publication; however the newspaper chose to publish the article without all of the facts on June 18th.
The Globe and Mail's article is further inaccurate in a critical part of its research. It refers to "Gengma Forestry", with its "litter-strewn" office "up a dusty cement staircase" and its office manager Zhang Ling. Very poetic, but completely irrelevant, because based on the information that The Globe and Mail provided to the Company, the Company believes that this is the address of a business known as Gengma Dai and Wa Autonomous County Forestry Industrial Co., Ltd. It is a different organization from Gengma Dai and Wa Tribes Autonomous County Forestry Limited, with whom Sino-Forest has its Master Agreement, which is based at an entirely different address. Upon becoming aware of this incorrect description, the Company provided the correct address for Gengma Dai and Wa Tribes Autonomous County Forestry Limited to The Globe and Mail.
In addition, in support of its case The Globe and Mail quotes an unnamed broker who stated that "most of the land with good trees around Gengma is all sold out." The scope of the Master Agreement encompasses the whole of Yunnan Province. For reference, Gengma County represents approximately 16% of the landmass of Lincang City area and less than 1% of Yunnan Province as a whole.
Furthermore, regarding The Globe and Mail's reference to an unnamed Yunnan Provincial forestry bureau official saying that Sino-Forest manages far less than 200,000 hectares, as indicated in the Company's written response to The Globe and Mail, the provincial level bureau records land ownership and land lease transactions, but does not separately record sales of standing timber. As publicly disclosed, the substantial majority of Sino-Forest's purchases are standing timber. The provincial level forestry bureau will therefore not have full details of the total area of timber purchases under Sino-Forest's and its subsidiaries' names.
The Company would like to remind investors that most domestic and multinational companies with significant China exposure, a country with a rapidly evolving business environment, have structures and operations that are complex and significantly different from the North American environment and that can be complex to explain. As, for example, the distinction between ownership of standing timber and leasing the underlying land by plantation operators whereas only the State and farmers-collective "own" the land that exists in China. The Independent Committee has told the Board that the review and examination being undertaken by the Independent Committee with the assistance of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and its independent legal advisors will likely take at least two to three months, which is normal for such processes. The Company fully understands that the pressure for answers is significant, but stands by its public disclosure and, as far as possible, asks that investors trust that process, and allow it to be conducted fully and definitively, not over-judging single articles or publications that are not produced by persons necessarily familiar with the forestry business or business practices in China, that might not be fully sourced or accurate. During the course of the Independent Committee's examination, the Board expects it will provide updates from such process as appropriate. That is precisely why the Company and Independent Committee need the time to complete the process.
Terms used in this announcement
Mu is a standard unit of land measurement in China and is one-fifteenth of a hectare (1 hectare = 15 mu).
Gengma County in Yunnan Province falls within the jurisdiction of Lincang City metropolitan area.
About Sino-Forest Corporation
Sino-Forest Corporation is a leading commercial forest plantation operator in China. Its principal businesses include the ownership and management of tree plantations, the sale of standing timber and wood logs, and the complementary manufacturing of downstream engineered-wood products. Sino-Forest also holds a majority interest in Greenheart Group Limited, a Hong Kong-listed investment holding company (HKSE: 00094) with operations based in Suriname, South America and New Zealand, which is involved in responsible and sustainable log harvesting, lumber processing and sales and marketing of logs and lumber products to China and other countries around the world. Sino-Forest's common shares have been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TRE since 1995. Learn more at www.sinoforest.com.
Effective on June 13, 2011, Mr. Frank W. Baier resigned from the Board of ? Directors of Doral Financial Corporation (the "Company"). Given his ? resignation, Mr. Baier will not stand for election as a member of the Board of ? Directors of the Company at the 2011 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held ? on June 28, 2011. Mr. Baier resigned from his position in the Board of ? Directors of the Company in order to pursue an employment opportunity with ? another financial institution. Mr. Baier confirmed that there were no disputes ? or disagreements with the Company's management or the other members of the ? Board of Directors of the Company in connection with his decision to resign as ? a director of the Company. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the ? Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to ? be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. ?
?
Thoughts on this?
Crime Wave in Puerto Rico Takes Life of Banking Executive
SAN JUAN – The latest victim of Puerto Rico’s wave of crime is a senior executive of Doral Financial Corporation, gunned down in downtown San Juan as he was driving in his car.
The 56-year-old Maurice J. Spagnoletti, Doral’s executive vice president of Mortgage and Banking Operations, on Wednesday night became the 515th crime fatality so far in 2011, a figure exceeding by about 90 the number of murders committed on the island by this time last year.
Spagnoletti had been living in Puerto Rico for six months.
Police Commander Orlando Melendez reported that although the executive had recently headed the bank’s restructuring authorities still do not know whether the murder is linked to an audit he launched of the financial institution.
Melendez insisted that the audit, which according to the San Juan press uncovered irregularities, cannot be pointed to as the factor that led to the death of Spagnoletti, whose killing appeared to be a professional hit.
The police commander said that the victim was shot three times in the head as he was attempting to flee in his vehicle from pursuers on the De Diego Expressway in downtown San Juan.
“Up to now, preliminarily, that is what we understand,” he said, adding that this was a murder perpetrated by one or more experienced gunmen.
Melendez said that the island’s police commissioner, Jose Figueroa Sancha, immediately activated an elite homicide squad to investigate the case.
The press reported that Spagnoletti had collaborated in an investigation with federal authorities but gave no further details.
Doral Bank, which with 40 branches sprinkled around the island and about 500,000 account holders and is one of Puerto Rico’s main banks, limited itself to releasing a curt communique in which it lamented the banker’s death.
“This is a tragedy and a very sad day for Doral Bank,” spokeswoman Lucienne Gigante said. “We lost a dear friend and top executive of our company. But, most important, he was a family man.”
Spagnoletti leaves behind a 5-year-old daughter.
Regarding speculation related to any improper conduct by the board of directors, the communique emphasizes that “it is completely misguided,” adding that Spagnoletti was an exemplary executive with high integrity who was much respected and admired.
Gigante dismissed speculation about misconduct at the bank as “totally false.”
“Maurice was an exemplary executive of the highest caliber and integrity. In the six months he was here he earned our respect and admiration,” she said.
Spagnoletti, due to his professional profile, is quite different from most of the dozens of people murdered each week on the streets of Puerto Rico, yet the modus operandi of the killers was very similar to that employed by local drug gangs.
Puerto Rican authorities attribute the spate of murders to a battle over control of drug corners in San Juan.
Police in December 2009 launched an operation to break up the drug sales networks, a campaign that has resulted in the elimination of 300 street corner drug sales sites and more than 1,000 arrests, according to the most recent data. EFE
nice bounce so far on SNOFF
AH 5.9M SHARES
Sino-Forest says local authorities in China have retracted erroneous information
By The Canadian Press | June 17, 2011
TORONTO - Shares of Sino-Forest Corp. (TSX:TRE) fell as much as 11 per cent on Friday but rallied later as the company continued to defend itself against allegations by a short seller, who accused the Chinese timberland operator of fraud.
Sino-Forest shares rose from their lows to trade at $3.11 in the afternoon, down 23 cents or nearly seven per cent from the previous close. The stock had been as low as $2.89 earlier in the session.
The drop came as a Chinese municipal bureau of commerce corrected its website to show that a company that sold more than $70 million in timberlands to Sino-Forest in 2007 wasn't a subsidiary of the Canadian company after all.
Sino-Forest published an unofficial translation Friday of a June 15 letter from the Huaihua City Bureau of Commerce to Huaihua City Yuda Wood Ltd. acknowledging the mistake and that Huaihua City Yuda Wood was instead a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Sonic Jita Engineering Ltd.
Sino-Forest shares (TSX:TRE) have more than three-quarters of their value since research and investment firm Muddy Waters Research accused the company of exaggerating sales and assets nearly two weeks ago.
The company has vigorously defended itself against the accusations, however chairman and chief executive Allen Chan has said that the business will be hurt as it devotes much of its resources to fighting the accusations and slows its pace of new timberland acquisitions.
Chan called the report "sloppy research" and pointed to several factual errors it contained, including a claim the company could not have transported the logs it sold using the trucks and the existing roads in the region.
In a response, Muddy Waters noted that the company did not address several of the concerns raised in its original report including its complicated corporate structure.
The TSX-traded Chinese timberland operator said it will take at least two or three months before an independent committee provides a complete report on its findings.
Sino-Forest shares were down 29 cents at $3.05 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.
Interesting read re: SNOFF / TRE..thanks
http://susan-mallin.blogspot.com/
Testing 3 again... on watch
SNOFF
Do you have real time info on TSE? If so, what do you use?
Still holding a position
Yesterday a flurry of activity at open...today nothing yet
SNDY low floater
SNDY low float on watch
SNDY nice close yesterday on watch
Bergamo Acquisition Corp Signs Joint Venture Agreement with Haanz Group
Bergamo Acquisition Corp (OTC: BGMO) announced today that it has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Haanz Group, an international corporation with business entities in Pakistan, North America and UAE. The Agreement is to establish investment services, green energy products, manufacturing, supply and trade, new and old building erection, procurement, construction, operation and maintenance, infrastructure projects, oil & natural gas projects, real estate development, energy education training & development, and environmental technology projects for Pakistan.
The agreement was signed during the recent visit to UAE, Far East and India by Hillard Herzog, CEO of BGMO, while meeting with Haanz Group Chairman and CEO Mr. Ayaz Lakhani. Mr. Lakhani is also CEO/Director of various other companies. Bergamo Acquisition Corp has agreed to provide investment, core technology, and equipment, along with EPC and Turnkey Solutions. Bergamo is to own 60% and Haanz Group 40%.
BGMO also announced the Company has entered into strategic relations with SLA Ventures LLC for Middle East, India and Pakistan projects. SLA Venture LLC is a registered organization based in Emirates of Dubai (UAE), with its wide-established operations reaching in the entire Middle East, Africa, Europe, India, Canada and USA. SLA Venture is led by Swedish national Zulfikar Alibhai. The company is a special vehicle entity which focuses in capital investments within the construction, real estate, textile, automotive, information technology, green building, environmental, technology, energy, infrastructure, professional education, advertising and retail industries.
SLA Venture also integrated its autonomous and leading consulting wing “SISCRAFT INCORPORATION.” SISCRAFT, with its highly qualified and experienced energy specialists from MIT (USA), LSE (UK), IIT, IIIT, IIM (India) and LEED (USA), have significantly added intellectual capital and functional expertise to Bergamo Acquisition Corp for projects based in the Middle East & India.
Bergamo Acquisition Corp, through its subsidiary company in Singapore, has in conjunction with Fortune Mint on Deposit with EFG Bank, $55 million USD. This is the first of three equal disbursements.
Here we go with the after hour chunks again! 35355 at 1.78 ... i don't think DRL hit 1.78 intraday
BGMO nice close up 23%
Thanks for the welcome, going strong now
The thing with the 2.45 is that TSE:TRE never actually saw that figure because it was halted at the time. TRE did see 2.85 today, which might be the number to watch. imho
I took the analysis as quite positive.
Valuation: "We believe TRE's shares face a long road to redemption, but the process is fluid and subject to change as new information becomes known. At the current levels, we believe shares clearly highlight the market's loss of confidence as implied metrics on many measures are well below historic levels. Ongoing efforts to improve disclosures, among other things, may help slowly regain market confidence. Our financial model remains unchanged since the start of recent share price volatility, but, we apply an 80% discount to our C$28 NAV to obtain the C$6.00 target. That target is also supported by a conservative liquidation scenario. We retain our Neutral rating."
SNOFF
Credit Suisse has a Neutral rating and $6 target price on Sino-Forest Corporation (TRE.TO) following yesterday's earnings result. But in reflecting lack of confidence in the stock across the market, the stock is down nearly 10% today at $3.05 and has touched $2.85, its lowest level since 2005.
Earnings review: "Sino-Forest reported headline Q1 2011 loss per share of US$0.08 and a stated adjusted EPS to be approximately US$0.18 after the impact of various items (e.g. convertible notes, fair value gains, IFRS changes). With the IFRS transition, the headline and adjusted figures are not overly comparable to our US$0.18 GAAP estimate. As we largely expected, the auditors issued a qualification statement in the MD&A related to the Independent Committee. Given the long-cycle nature of most of our coverage universe, we do not place undue emphasis on quarterly results."
Selected highlights: Highlights include: (a) hectares of trees sold in Q1 2011 were 15,767ha for a 27% increase from Q1 2010; (b) Q1 2011 average sales price was US$89/m3 against Q1 2010 at US$84/m3; (c) Q1 2011 gross profit margin declined to 37.1% from 39.1% in Q1 2010; (d) total fibre volume sold was 2.455m m3 which increased against the 1.861m m3 of volume in Q1 2010; and, (e) TRE stated it will "review its planned acquisition pace and report changes to the original plan in the coming months".
Investment thesis: "China's wood fibre supply-demand imbalance may provide longer-term investment opportunities."
Valuation: "We believe TRE's shares face a long road to redemption, but the process is fluid and subject to change as new information becomes known. At the current levels, we believe shares clearly highlight the market's loss of confidence as implied metrics on many measures are well below historic levels. Ongoing efforts to improve disclosures, among other things, may help slowly regain market confidence. Our financial model remains unchanged since the start of recent share price volatility, but, we apply an 80% discount to our C$28 NAV to obtain the C$6.00 target. That target is also supported by a conservative liquidation scenario. We retain our Neutral rating."
Read more: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2011-06/sinoforest-corp-down-nearly-10-as-credit-suisse-crunches-the-q1-numbers.aspx?storyid=80797#ixzz1PMKcLmkF
Sino-Forest Corp. (TRE.TO), the Chinese tree-plantation owner that plunged after it was targeted by short seller Carson Block, is down another 10% today and has hit a new year low of $2.85, adding to the third of its value it lost yesterday.
Late yesterday, Sino-Forest said it has talked to Paulson & Co., its largest shareholder, and the firm is "very supportive", Bloomberg reported.
Paulson is among Sino-Forest investors that have offered advice on how to refute assertions by Block's Muddy Waters LLC that the company overstated its China timber holdings, Chief Financial Officer David Horsley reportedly said.
"I've spoken to them and they are very supportive, giving us suggestions and issues that we need to address," Horsley reportedly said in a telephone interview from Hong Kong.
Read more: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2011-06/update-sinoforest-corp-down-another-10-and-hits-new-yr-low-today-adds-to-third-of-value-lost-yesterday.aspx?storyid=80780#ixzz1PM2ToyKH
Someone loaded 135000 shares at 1.60 on that open...very odd trading
Bought at 1.60...
Whats up with the action this morning??
That doesn't really "prove" anything and is a bit of a time waster imo.
...
BGMO summer run starting GLTA
BMTI bottom bounce...FDA play
5.79 x 5.80
what good would that do...you can write anything you want lol
EXPH waiting on the bid
Summer rally for BGMO imo
starting to look interesting
make that 38%!
BGMO is going to have a STRONG SUMMER in my opinion...just beginning
PEIXD up 19%!
It traded to over a dollar easily