Over the weekend, the exchange made a rare move! Investors have two major questions

Guo Bochun was placed on file and placed in custody by the Ningxia Supervision Agency on suspicion of job-related crimes, and has now been repatriated from Laos.

The reporter of Securities Times E Company first reported that Guo Baichun's other identity is the chairman of the listed company Potassium International. Potassium International is the largest potash fertilizer developer in mainland China, with a current market value of 18.1 billion yuan.

The matter continued to ferment, and relevant announcements were made by listed companies and exchanges over the weekend.

Potassium International (000893) announced yesterday (Saturday) evening that the company received a letter of concern from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange required the company to further verify the investigation process of the company's chairman Guo Baichun, whether the company has accepted assistance in the investigation, whether there are major matters that have not fulfilled the information disclosure obligation in a timely manner, whether the relevant information has been leaked in advance, and then have a relevant impact on the recent trading of the company's shares, and whether the company's relevant announcements in the early stage are true, accurate and complete.

Recently, the share price of Potassium International has fallen faster than its peers, which also makes many investors suspect that the relevant information is known to minority shareholders.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange inquired whether the investigation of the chairman of the company involved the company's related matters, whether it would have a significant impact on the company's production and operation management, whether the company had made proper arrangements for relevant business management decision-making matters, and requested timely and full reminders of the relevant risks.

Earlier yesterday, Potassium International announced that the company received the "Notice of Retention in Custody of the Supervision Commission of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region" on March 29, and Chairman Guo Baichun was suspected of dereliction of duty during his tenure as deputy mayor of Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Potassium International believes that the investigation is an investigation of Chairman Guo Baichun and has nothing to do with the company. At present, the company's production and operation are normal, the company has a sound governance structure and internal control mechanism, and operates in accordance with relevant systems and specifications. As of the disclosure date of the announcement, the control of the company has not changed, the board of directors of the company is operating normally, the daily operation and management is responsible for the senior management team, and the production and operation of the company and its subsidiaries are steadily advancing.

As of the disclosure date of the announcement, the company has not yet known the progress and conclusion of the investigation, and the company will continue to pay attention to the follow-up of the above matters, and strictly follow the provisions and requirements of relevant laws and regulations, timely fulfill the information disclosure obligations and remind the relevant risks.

Announcements are rarely made on Saturdays by listed companies and exchanges, and this announcement shows that this unexpected event has a significant impact on companies.

The reporter of Securities Times E Company learned from the company's insiders that the company also learned about the incident because of media reports, hoping to minimize the impact on the company.

Ningxia decided to investigate Guo Baichun in January this year, and it has been more than two months since then, so many investors suspect that the company should have gotten the news a long time ago.

Water seepage problems

On investor communication network platforms such as stock bars, many investors are worried about what impact Guo Baichun's investigation will have on the company and how much the stock price will fall.

Another issue that investors are focusing on is the leakage of the No. 2 main inclined well, which was also announced by Potassium International.

On the morning of January 13, the official account of Potassium International showed that the pledge meeting of "100 days of hard work and winning the battle for the repair of the No. 2 main inclined shaft and roadway project" was held. At this pledge meeting, Chairman Guo Baichun said that the company will continue to work hard to build the No. 2 main inclined shaft into a century-old project, and emphasized the principle of quality first, he expressed firm confidence in all employees, and will plan to complete the repair work in 100 days.

According to industry insiders, the water seepage of the No. 2 main inclined well has a great impact on the potassium international, and waterproofing is a problem in the world, which may affect half of the company's production capacity.

Another issue that investors are concerned about is the commissioning of the Xiaodongbu mine, which is scheduled to be put into operation in the near future.

Guo Baichun said in January that the concentrator plant of the Xiaodongbu project will be commissioned in the first quarter, and the mine has reserved space for 5 million mt/year potash production, and the infrastructure is being built according to the needs of 3 million mt/year potash production.

Potassium International is the star of the mainland potash fertilizer industry in the near future, the domestic potash fertilizer production has not changed much for many years, and the resources are facing the problem of mining exhaustion, and the Laos mining area involved in the Potassium International is growing explosively in recent years, in addition to the Potassium International, there are Oriental Tower, Zangge Mining, etc., and even the leading domestic potash fertilizer boss Salt Lake shares also seek to develop mineral resources in Laos.

Potassium International's production target for 2024 is 2.8 million tons to 3 million tons, and at least 5 million tons per year will be completed by 2027, which is equivalent to the current output of Salt Lake.

Capital operation

Guo Baichun took up the role of chairman in January 2020 when the board of directors was re-elected.

The predecessor of Asia Potassium International was originally engaged in the grain and oil business, but it began to develop rapidly after the completion of the shareholder reorganization and the change of the board of directors in 2020.

Guo Baichun was appointed deputy mayor of the Yinchuan Municipal People's Government in June 2013 and resigned in 2018.

In the position of deputy mayor, Guo Baichun frequently appeared in the media, in addition to showing the media the construction of smart cities, he mainly spent his energy on finance. He is in charge of finance, state-owned assets supervision and management, economic and technological cooperation (foreign affairs), investment promotion, investment and financing platform, and smart Yinchuan construction.

Guo Baichun is good at capital operation, and under his lead, Crown Wood sold the shell to Tianshen Entertainment. Zhu Ye, the founder of Tianjin Entertainment, had dinner with Warren Buffett, which caused a sensation.

However, after the poor performance of Tianjin Entertainment, the company's stock price plummeted, internal disputes continued, and in 2019, the management changed significantly, and Guo Baichun served as the deputy general manager.

Guo Baichun seems to prefer the game business, Yinchuan intends to become a game industry base, and Zhongyin Cashmere intends to buy Shanda game assets and actively participate in the privatization of Shanda Games. Guo Baichun concurrently served as the secretary of the Party Committee of Zhongyin Cashmere Industry at that time.

Local media once called him "a well-known expert on capital operation and government finance".

Before coming to Yinchuan as deputy mayor, Guo Baichun worked in financial institutions for a long time. He has worked in Gulianhe Coal Mine in Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Trust and Investment Company of Agricultural Bank of China, Heilongjiang Branch of Agricultural Bank of China, Guangzhou Branch of People's Bank of China, and Mudanjiang Municipal Government. He used to be the deputy general manager and member of the sub-party group of AVIC Investment Holdings Co., Ltd., and the chairman of AVIC Groupama Property Insurance Company.

He also led AVIC's backdoor investment in ST North Asia, which was quite difficult.

Recently, officials in Yinchuan have been investigated one after another.

In March 2023, according to the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission, Jiang Zhigang, former deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and former secretary of the Yinchuan Municipal Party Committee, was investigated.

During Guo Baichun's tenure as vice mayor of Yinchuan, Jiang Zhigang served as secretary of the Yinchuan Municipal Party Committee. Jiang Zhigang has served as secretary of the Yinchuan Municipal Party Committee since June 2017.

Mr. Guo was also a colleague of the ousted Xu Qing, who served as deputy mayor of Yinchuan from August 2015 to August 2018.

In February 2022, Xu Qing was double-opened. The circular pointed out that he lived a corrupt and degenerate life, was unclear and unclear in his dealings with private entrepreneurs, turned the power in his hands into a tool for personal gain, traded power for money, provided false information to the organization, and resisted the organization's censorship.