Video Wall Supplier Vtron Slumps as China Probes Disclosure of Missing USD182 Million(Yicai) Dec. 27 -- Vtron Group’s shares sank by their daily trading limit for the third straight day after the Chinese video wall supplier said it is under investigation for information disclosure violations after its intended buyer embezzled CNY1.3 billion (USD182 million) of its funds.
Vtron [SHE: 002308] finished 10 percent lower at CNY3.52 (50 US cents) a share in Shenzhen today. The stock has declined 27 percent from its closing price on Dec. 22.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission has opened an investigation on suspicion of suspected information disclosure violations by Vtron and Liu Jun, the Guangzhou-based maker of large liquid-crystal display panels announced on Dec. 22.
Liu is the actual controller of Xiling Energy, a Jiangxi province-based firm that penned an agreement in September to buy Vtron’s controlling shareholder, Zhongshu Weike Partnership, from Jiangsu Sunshine Group. Zhongshu Weike owns 24.2 percent of Vtron.
Liu is a well-known stock speculator with an appetite for penny stocks. He used to be in charge of several companies on the brink of delisting through his investment vehicles, including Northeast Electric Development and Busen Garments.
Vtron said the same day that Liu had withdrawn CNY1.3 billion from a joint bank account twice. After the first time, the funds were returned in late October but after the second withdrawn, which occurred in November, the funds are still missing.
A day later, the securities watchdog began probing Lu Keping, the actual controller of Sunshine Group, on similar grounds. Lu, 79, received a lifetime ban from the securities market from the CSRC in 2020 for illegal trading. Jiangsu Sunshine and Vtron, two listed companies under Sunshine Group, are both chaired by his son Lu Yu.
The latest investigation adds to Vtron's financial pressures. Nine-month net profit tumbled 82 percent from a year earlier to CNY13.5 million (USD1.9 million) and revenue fell 16 percent to CNY363 million (USD50.8 million), according to its latest interim report.
Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine
