S-Chips selldown

The selldown has not abated for the S-Chips. We need another 2-3 months for the issues to be resolved with Celestial, Fibrechem, Sino Environment, Beauty China and Ferro....wonder who else will come close??

I think we can add Oriental Century to the glut of scandals rocking S-Shares in recent weeks. This Catalist-listed company managed to fool even REL\'s staff who did a due diligence to acquire a near 30% of the Company. As for whether other S-Shares will \"implode\", it remains to be seen. I admit it\'s pretty scary even though I don\'t own any S-Shares. Makes you wonder about the level of corporate governance instilled by SGX over such IPO-aspirants (or shall I call them ass-pirants ?) back during the bull market days. More regulation is needed or SGX and Singapore will end up as a laughing stock for allowing such companies to list.

Another S-Share in trouble. This time it\'s China Sun Bio-Chem. Auditor cannot verify the cash and receivables on Balance Sheet.

S shares have become rubbish trash now. I think the US economy is going to be down for a long long while, similar to what japan has experienced in the past decade, even though US president cites signs of progress, it might just be a long long time. Unless China can sustain its growth, i think a lot of china companies are going to be in trouble, some may be in serious trouble, yet it doesnt reflect in the books. So i say, we should offload watever S shares on and off when there are any opportunities for now, stay off the S course, wait and see which are the ones that could still survive after 2 years.

Yes, add Ocean International to the list which have raised auditors\' concerns. It was reported in today\'s BT.

Dow Jones Update:- DJ 2nd UPDATE: China Sun Bio-Chem In Shr Suspension Over Audit (adds comment from auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers) SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--China Sun Bio-Chem Technology Group Co. (C86.SG) has requested suspension of its shares on the Singapore Exchange amid questions raised by its auditor over the authenticity of CNY592 million (US$86.6 million) in bank balances and some of its CNY337 million trade receivable balances. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP wasn\'t able to finalize its audit of the financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31 because of those questions, the China-based producer of corn starch said in a statement late Wednesday. Shares of the company, which have been under trading halt since Monday, are now suspended indefinitely. PwC confirmed to Dow Jones Newswires the statements made by China Sun Bio-Chem in the filing. The company is the latest SGX-listed China firm to run into problems in recent months, which analysts attribute to lack of corporate governance and deteriorating market conditions. As problems surrounding China companies emerge, \"their ability to use the Singapore capital market will diminish significantly as investors will have to accord a very high and large risk premium to such companies because of the perceived uncertainty in the area of risk management and corporate fraud,\" said Kevin Scully, chairman of research firm NetResearch Asia. According to China Sun Bio-Chem, PwC said it was unable to establish the authenticity of bank confirmations it received related to the existence of balances totaling CNY592 million. The auditor also \"had difficulties\" establishing the existence of certain debtors among the accounts receivable balances totaling CNY337 million recorded in the company\'s books, China Sun Bio-Chem said. According to the company, its chairman and chief executive, Sun Guiji, acknowledged some recording errors over the identities of some of the debtors might have occurred. He, however, stated that the sales revenue was correct and the trade receivables were collectible. \"The company has requested for the suspension of the trading of the company\'s shares on the SGX until it is able to satisfactorily ascertain the financial position of the group and to provide the shareholders with a report thereon,\" China Sun Bio-Chem said. The company said it will appoint KPMG Advisory Services Pte. Ltd. to help with the review. It also said it is taking steps to strengthen its corporate governance. New measures include the requirement to get wider approval, in addition to the chief executive\'s go-ahead, for any payment, transfer or remittance that exceeds CNY5 million. -By Patricia Kowsmann, Dow Jones Newswires; 65 6415 4157; patricia.kowsmann@dowjones.com (Frankie Ho in Singapore contributed to this article.)