SINGAPORE (Dec 22) Ren Yuanlin, the executive chairman of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings), will resume work with effect from Dec 23, more than four months after he was first said by the company to be “assisting in a confidential investigation”.
This was announced by the company in the evening of Dec 22 in a terse statement. No further details were provided. During Ren’s absence, his son Ren Le Tian, the company’s CEO, covered his duties.
The company, an STI component stock, has been operating under a gloomy cloud after news that Ren was reportedly asked to assist in an investigation in the alleged corruption of a local party official, one Liu Jianguo, who hails from the same hometown as Ren.
News of Ren’s involvement was first reported on Aug 8 – more than two months after he was allegedly involved. Yangzijiang shares crashed some 30% in the wake of the news, to $1 on Aug 8. Yangzijiang shares closed Dec 20 at $1.07.
On Nov 13, the company reported earnings of RMB702.3 million, down 10% y-o-y, on revenue of RM5.4 billion, up 1% y-o-y. As at Nov 13, the company’s order book stood at US3.18 billion, to be fulfilled over the coming year and a half.
