(Yicai Global) June 25 -- After issuing several versions of its listing plan, China's leading smartphone maker Xiaomi touched off its Hong Kong listing in the Chinese special administrative region on June 23.

However, on the eve of Xiaomi's initial public offering, a research report titled 'The supply chain reappears more serious pollution, Xiaomi's IPO allegedly violated information disclosure' was submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Two Chinese environmental protection organizations, Green Jiangnan and the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), jointly issued the report, as Chinese business news portal ICEO reported.

"Several existing company suppliers have violated environmental protection regulations," but they "have already corrected their non-compliance with environmental protection regulations," Xiaomi replied in its prospectus for its public offering of Chinese deposit receipts recently appearing on the website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The document Xiaomi submitted to the CSRC diverged sharply from the statement of its suppliers' environmental risks in its prospectus issued for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The latter disclosed no supply chain pollution issues.

This is the first time for Xiaomi to publicly admit its suppliers breached environmental protection regulations, according to the news IPE released. Several environmental protection organizations have taken Xiaomi to task over its supply chain pollution issues for over four years.

The plating and etching workshop of the Suzhou factory of ICHIA Technologies, the Xiaomi supplier implicated, has been ordered to suspend operations. Environmental authorities are monitoring groundwater and underground soil, the Suzhou-based Green Jiangnan learned from the environmental protection office of Suzhou High-Tech Zone.

"The information we have received is clearly inconsistent with Xiaomi's claim that its suppliers corrected their environmental protection violations," said Fang Yingjun, director of Green Jiangnan. ICHIA's Suzhou factory is suspected of being a Xiaomi supplier because, though Xiaomi has not publicly acknowledged it, it has never denied it either." The two established a supply relationship in 2013, public data show.

Green Jiangnan, IPE, Friends of Nature, and fellow environment watchdogs Green Hunan and Green Qilu jointly sent letters to Xiaomi asking it to fix its prospectus filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to protect investors.

Xiaomi had not responded as of press time. It also offered no statement on the supply chain issue at a June 23 press conference.

Editor: Ben Armour