China: Wison Accounts Seized. Chairman Unreachable

China’s Wison Engineering Services Co. Ltd. has informed that some of its bank accounts have been seized by the authorities as part of an investigation. In a separate filing to the Hong Kong exchange, Wison also said its CFO Chen Wenfeng had resigned “to pursue other business opportunities.”

The company claims it has not been informed about the nature of the investigation : “As part of their investigations, the regulatory authorities made enquires about certain projects of the Group, taken books and records and frozen certain bank accounts of the Group. The Company was not told the reason for freezing our bank accounts. After the Company’s communication with the regulatory authorities, some of the frozen bank accounts have been released.”

It also said that it was not able to contact its Chairman Hua Bangsong “and he is not able to discharge his daily duties in relation to the Group’s business operation and administration.”

To strengthen the Company’s management, Wison said it was considering appointing an acting Chairman of the Board.

The Company has said it is still in touch with the regulatory authorities, assessing the impact of the investigations on its normal operation and taking actions to manage cash-flow and risks.

“It is not possible for the Board to determine at this stage the impact of the investigations on the Company’s business operation and financial performance as the duration of the investigations and the nature and outcome of the investigations are not known yet,” added the company in a filing.

As for the CFO resignation, Wison thanked Chen Wenfeng for his service and stated “there is no disagreement with the Board [and Wenfeng] and there is no matter relating to his resignation that needs to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the Company.”

Trading of the Company’s shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was halted on Monday, September 2, 2013. Wison did not say when the trading will resume.

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, September 19, 2013