Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Reuters reports Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the world’s largest accounting and consulting firm, has resigned as auditors of Hong Kong-listed Real Gold Mining, more than four months after the Inner Mongolian miner was reported to have filed conflicting accounting reports and had trading in its shares suspended.
Real Gold is the latest in a string of Chinese companies listed in Singapore, Hong Kong and the US that have come under scrutiny. AsiaOne reported on Tuesday shares of Singapore-listed Sky China Petroleum Services slumped as much as 32% after its auditors, Ernst & Young LLP, resigned.
Other companies with China connections have also been damaged by suspicions around creative accounting: MINING.com reported at the end of last month shareholders who held onto their Silvercorp Metals stock during the rollercoaster ride that started on September 2 when the company had to disclose fraud allegations and a massive short position in its stock, had something to show for their loyalty. Silvercorp, China’s biggest silver miner, is now worth more than it was before the scam was exposed.
MINING.com reported in June investors are continuing to worry about the soundness of Chinese companies that came to the US market through so-called reverse listings with the value of the 98 companies declining sharply as irregularities are uncovered at firms engaging in operations as diverse as software and timber.
