Tianhe Chemicals Group faces potential delisting from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 10 months if it does not file overdue earnings reports and meet other regulator requirements, according to a recent filing by the company.
Trading of Tianhes stock has been suspended since March 2015 because of its failure to file earnings reports and to meet requirements that were subsequently set by the Hong Kong Securities and Exchange Commission. In August the commission changed its rules for delisting companies as part of an effort to reduce numbers of corporations subject to trading suspensions. In doing so, the commission gave suspended companies 12 months – until July 31, 2019 – to get suspensions lifted.
After that date, the Listing Department of the exchange will advise its Listing Commission to cancel listings of companies suspended for 12 continuous months.
In its Aug. 1 filing, Tianhe stated that it will attempt to avoid delisting, noting that it has worked throughout its suspension to address requirements set by the commission.
The company has been proactively taking steps to address the commissions concerns, the filing stated. In June 2018, the company has made the latest submission to the commission to address its concerns and to seek the commissions consent to permit the company to recommence the dealing in the shares. Tianhe is still waiting for the commission to respond to that submission.
Back in March 2015, Tianhe failed to meet a deadline for filing its 2014 financial results – the original reason for its suspension – because it was trying to address questions that the commission raised in the wake of a report by Anonymous Analytics, a shadowy corporate watchdog, claiming that Tianhes 2014 initial public stock offering contained fraudulent statements, allegations that the company has consistently denied.
In May 2017, the commission concluded that Tianhes prospectus for the IPO contained false, incomplete or misleading information.
Tianhe has not filed audited earnings reports since its suspension, although it has filed unaudited results.
The company is based in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, China, and claims to be the largest Asian supplier of lubricant additives.