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Snow, I think that food safety and food quality are huge issues in China.
The best way for Solomon to guarantee the safety and quality of his products is to control the supply chain.
On Fridays, for an hour after the markets close, it is iHub Happy Hour. Everyone, including members with free accounts, can send private messages. FWIW.
Based on the occasional speculation about trading activity of SIAF, some of you may enjoy this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/magazine/flash-boys-michael-lewis.html
That song has been running through my head all day, challe08.
I think hyperboy should use it in his next SIAF video!
Good question, Tony. Maybe they're not considered to be "ready for prime time."
On this topic, we've been told that a new website is being planned. So I created a document and started to add my thoughts about what features or information or appearance is needed, and I put some links to a couple websites I like (and one that I don't like but it's in the farm-to-table business in China in the fast food sector, so it's relevant I think).
Tony, you can request links to the subsidiaries. Empty can request what he wants (share count?).
I hope that everyone will contribute to this, and that nobody will sabotage it. I'll consolidate requests and take the results to Charlotte, and give the info to the SIAF team.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LIgjUHaBSGuGxUr0yA0pFLqXv0qVTHBAFb1ne-ufA7Q/edit
Hi Ikea,
I know a couple others, but they all (including the Hunan site) look like they're incomplete. SJAP's seems most credible, although their banner shows a bag of Scott's Lawn Fertilizer!
SJAP: http://www.qhsjyl.com/index.asp
HST (HU plantation): http://hstny.w106.84g.com/index1.asp
It looks like the completely out of date http://www.siafchina.com has been removed.
You may be correct, viking.
But the items on credit are included specifically, and cattle are not mentioned there.
You can ask Solomon in Charlotte.
kavdiv,
I am not 100% certain, but I believe that the farmer provides the cattle. SJAP does not sell cattle to a farmer on credit. SJAP specifies that they will only buy a few types of cattle from the farmers (Simmental, Charolais and another). SJAP prescribes what type of grass must be eaten and requires the farmers to fertilize it with their fertilizer and feed the cows their livestock feed. Those are the items that are sold on credit, recovered when SJAP buys the cow. I'm pretty sure of that. Without any idea of the price of fertilizers and feed versus the price of a calf or young cow, it seems likely to me that SJAP has less AR exposure than you suggest.
Thanks, NJM --
I noticed that the link to register for the Investor Meeting didn't get copied in your post. Here it is:
http://siaf-charlotte-2014.eventbrite.com/
That number was mentioned in Stockholm, in September 2013. But it was never used by Solomon or other SIAF employees on the Investor Tour.
You are correct, challe08. Solomon never said 330,000 to Investor Tour participants. That was inaccurately reported here by a member who not only violated the confidentiality agreement that all of us signed, but got the information wrong!
Qinghai province has a large Muslim population. That's also why they raise sheep.
These were not stunned, and another person on the tour (with a relative who's a cattle veterinarian) told me that half of the beef cattle slaughtered in Europe were killed the same way as at SJAP.
I need to sleep. Investors on the tour were comprised of the following nationalities:
Chinese
Malaysian
Swedish
American
German
Italian
FWIW, I am pretty sure that they can sell every bit of meat in their region of Qinghai province.
No way. I can't imagine it, after seeing carcasses being skinned. Ugh!
I couldn't sleep for a couple nights after seeing the abattoir. I guess that they didn't plan to actually slaughter while we were present (wimpy westerners that we are), but our arrival was not on schedule, and we saw 3 live cows hanging by one leg each, clearly terrified and agitated before their throats were slit. I can hardly write about it without feeling sick and sad again.
I can't remember about SJAP specifically (will attempt to confirm), but every farm we visited that relies on a steady power source has its own independent power generating systems in case of outages. The fish and prawn farms have big boiler rooms and generators.
I uploaded some un-edited photos from SJAP, without many comments. It is a huge hassle from China, so I will upload more when I'm home.
All tour members were asked to submit photos to IR, so you may see these again on SIAF's site:
https://plus.google.com/photos/101115943191107012181/albums/5959035822885827521
Respectfully, I beg to differ, stolpen. Without the tour, I might have sold my shares near 60 cents and made almost 50% profit, because I would have lacked evidence of the company's actual capabilities and facilities.
The tour is a presentation, of course, but it showcases tangible (and remarkable) progress and accomplishments of the company. It's not a promotional event; it truly is a demonstration of the growing operations, infrastructure, and abilities of this company.
Although I hate the depressed share price, and maybe should have sold some at recent highs, I do not believe that I will regret holding this stock.
Perhaps you are right; I was careful to say that it was in my opinion. It still is my opinion, though.
I have no special information, but I am observant. I saw and heard the Penser reps on last year's tour and again in May 2013. So, I believe what I said, but it may not be accurate.
As far as blame goes (in response to emptyone), that is a pointless exercise (in my opinion, once again). Everyone on the SIAF team was doing their best to get a solution that would end the need for dilution. No one could have predicted the number of obstacles that the company would need to overcome in the process.
Also, emptyone, Solomon has been unwilling to speculate or offer any projections about any of this, other than expressing general confidence. I think it's smart, as the company is under such scrutiny at the moment. We'll just need to be patient. After visits to PF 1 & 2, FF1, and HU today - plus the rest of the sites we visited - I feel confident that this company will reward its shareholders very well. But we need to be patient.
Overall, I think there is too much speculation about what may have happened or is happening, and it degenerates into actual misinformation.
Also, Bill, the idea that SIAF has paid cheerleaders on this board is risible. Ludicrous, in fact. Just because long term shareholders support the company, they are accused of collusion, etc. It is insulting and I know it is not true.
Solomon never "threw a fit" with Penser. Just FYI. That would be completely out of character. I was in Stockholm at the time; that did not happen.
There certainly was tension during the meetings with Penser last spring, but it did not originate with Solomon.
You are correct, in my opinion, that the effort to work with Penser was a waste of time and money for SIAF. I believe that Penser acted in bad faith throughout the process of selling their services to SIAF, and again by not performing or delivering as promised.
Correct. RD. rushing to catch the bus, so pardon both grammatical errors and substantive ones. I meant NASDAQ
Hello folks, I indicates that the latest round of answers to SEC questions is complete. That does not mean that the SEC has finished asking questions. Let's hope they have no more.
A quick Investor Tour update:
We are back in Guangzhou with wifi for the first time in 3 days, and are presently dining in Leonie Restaurant #4, overlooking the Zhujiang River. After days of delicious dining, including at Bull Restaurant, the food here is an exceptionally tasty combination of Malaysian and western style dishes using the company's seafood, beef and produce. The eel was fabulous (my only experience eating eel is unagi at sushi restaurants, which I like very much), and this flower pattern eel was excellent - as was the sleepy cod.
The progress at Xining was impressive. We visited two cooperative cattle farms, and spent a day at SJAP. The cattle houses are renovated and modernized; there are more of them; the fertilizer factory is running one shift per day in the winter, but will resume three shifts per day when the weather warms up. There were different production rooms and lines for the different fertilizer formulations, and the facility was huge. We climbed at least four flights to the top. The control room was one or two stories above the production lines, and employs a CNC programmer/operator full time.
The abattoir is operating, while construction is on-going. For example, only two of four (huge) flash freezing rooms are in operation. Unfortunately, I did witness 3 live cows being slaughtered (and could not sleep that night because of the images in my mind), and the butchering processes of many others. The aging rooms had a dozen or more carcasses hanging, and de-boning and packaging operations were taking place.
The progress at HSA was also immense. Many more buildings than last year, plus roads and other infrastructure that did not exist. An excavator was clearing adjacent land, where the hill will be leveled for cattle houses. Currently, the fertilizer is made of chicken manure purchased from local farmers; cow manure will be added when cattle operations come online. We saw the various stages of fermentation, and the production lines in operation.
Tour participants will send their good photos to IR (Peter) for use on the website and Facebook. Before that, I will try to upload some and will post a link when I do.
Tomorrow we visit PF2, PF1, FF1 and HU / cattle farm in Enping.
More to come.
We just arrived in Xining 2-1/2 hours ago (it's a bit after 9 pm on December 14 here). It is bitterly cold. Just to run 15 feet between the bus and the hotel feels like frostbite sets in. We had a terrific, spicy meal with the SJAP general manager and some senior staff, and were told that they will slaughter 100 cattle tomorrow when we're at SJAP, and we'll also see fertilizer production (along with the new cattle houses, etc.).
It is pretty exciting, considering that we were shown the raw land where these things were to be built just 15 months ago.
I think the slaughter will be video recorded, but I personally will not be a witness to the actual events, nor do I intend to watch the video. Just not my cup of tea.
First of all, this is old "information" that is entirely meaningless and obsolete to people involved with SIAF in December 2013. Zzzzzzzzzzzz ... Truly, joe, your accusations are baseless and without merit. If there were any truth, the SEC would have been all over this a long time ago.
Second, I called (the correct, actual former auditor) Ted Madsen and spoke to him personally when SIAF announced their change of auditors. Ted told me that he is retiring, and has nothing negative whatsoever to say about SIAF; in fact quite the contrary. He also told me that he never spoke to anybody about an engagement letter and your other claims. Ted worked with an associated accounting firm in Guangzhou, and that firm continues to work with the new auditor. Ted had high praise for that firm's competence.
Third, and critically important, does anybody believe that Ted Madsen would put himself at legal risk by signing off on SIAF's audits if he were not engaged by them and had not performed the audits? Highly doubtful, in fact truly improbable. He would go to jail for such criminal acts.
Any new audit firm would not take on a fraudulently audited company.
I think it's time to stop beating this dead horse, Joe. Surely, if you dig deeply, you can find something FACTUAL and VALID to criticize or complain about with respect to the company.
I think we should wait for the official announcement about the mega-farm to understand the projected production numbers and contacting revenue over the next few years.
We are not receiving any inside or privileged information. A confidentiality agreement in this type of situation is a just a standard business practice.
It is clear that contributors to this board are eager for any information we can get (as am I), but speculating about what info we may receive just creates confusion.
Don't worry, we will share!
It is unfortunate, but the company can NOT "pump" anything until S-1 approval. Trust me, they wish they could promote their activities. But it is not possible under SEC regulations. This is a quiet period, in which they are only allowed to disclose material events, or the type of reporting they've done in the past (such as quarterly reports).
Really, Joe, such comments are boring. The company is becoming more mature and professional. Period. Unlike your "facts," this is a fact.
There is no "show," that is, unless we want to watch a cow being butchered at the abattoir WHICH DID NOT EVEN EXIST LAST YEAR!
Personally, I do not care to witness that show.
Targeting is the operative word, emptyone. As we've learned, none of this is easy as SIAF is breaking new ground for a Chinese company at each and every step. But, yes, Solomon has complied with all requests and answered the latest round of questions from NASDAQ, so he is optimistic about a January up-listing.
Tour participants had to sign confidentiality agreements this year (in my view, this indicates that the company is becoming more mature and less naive).
Yesterday, Solomon said that OMX is after NASDAQ. Not FN.
I would be very interested to read a summary of these facts, without emotions, without assumptions, without unsupported accusations that might cast doubt on your allegations.
Just the facts.
Thank you.
I am already in smoggy Guangzhou, and learned that HB's flight was cancelled due to weather at Dulles yesterday. So, we now expect him to arrive in about 11 hours. I suspect that is what his "T-" posts are about.
Sorry, on my phone and missed a key point. I think Solomon says Sino in the English way. Nisse says 'see-no' as it would be pronounced in most other languages.
This has been a topic of discussion for me with friends. (Shows how uninteresting my life must be.)
The English word "Sino-" is a prefix that means China, and is pronounced 'sigh-no' so that is how I have decided to pronounce it. However, our European colleagues will naturally pronounce it as "see-no."
Since the company is incorporated in the US, my vote is to use the standard English pronunciation.
Hi FT, it's okay, you can always receive private messages from me even if you can't send them (except during happy hour).
Let's not delete more. We can restore it all, as far as I'm concerned (and I might be considered the injured party, although there is no suffering, so don't worry).