Zhongrun Resources holds the gold mine, but the stock has fallen for 16 consecutive days, and the exchange has issued 20 questions

National Business Daily

2024-05-28 08:36Published on the official account of Sichuan Daily Economic News

Reporter: Peng Fei Editor: Lu Xiangyong, Wen Duo

On May 27, the stock price of Zhongrun Resources (stock abbreviation *ST Zhongrun, SZ000506) fell again.

Since May, *ST Zhongrun, which has been "wearing stars and hats" due to the continuous negative non-standard audit report and deduction of non-net profit, has suffered 16 consecutive fall limits.

On the evening of May 26, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued an annual report inquiry letter to *ST Zhongrun, and the number of issues involved in the letter reached 20.

Wind showed that as of May 10, the stock had 100,000 shareholders. Some investors even wonder if the company, whose main business is gold mining, actually owns mines.

The exchange sent a letter of 20 questions

On the evening of May 26, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued a letter of inquiry to *ST Zhongrun, and among the 20 issues involved in the letter of inquiry, *ST Zhongrun was issued an audit report by the annual audit accountant that could not express an opinion, which became the focus of attention.

The reporter of "Daily Economic News" noticed that the reason why it is difficult for accountants to form opinions stems from an asset replacement completed by *ST Zhongrun in August 2023.

In this exchange, *ST Zhongrun exchanged 100% of the equity of Zibo Real Estate and 100% of the equity of Jinan Xingrui Commercial Operation Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jinan Xingrui") with 51% of the equity of Xinjin International Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xinjin Company") held by Shenzhen Mawei Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Mawei Titanium Industry"), and the asset replacement was completed on August 7, 2023.

Quite strangely, on the fourth day after the completion of the asset delivery, the transaction partner Mawei Titanium quickly changed shareholders.

According to the announcement, on August 11, 2023, the shareholders of Mawei Titanium Industry were changed from Yan Gaoming and other natural persons and institutions to Shandong Ruishi Property Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ruishi Property"), and the actual controller of Mawei Titanium Industry was also changed to Ren Bo, a natural person.

As of the date of the audit report, the annual audit accountants were unable to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence on the reasons for the change of shareholders of Mawei Titanium within 4 days after the completion of the aforesaid asset replacement, whether the change involved potential related party relationships and related party transactions, whether it constituted a package transaction with the asset replacement transaction, and the commercial substance of the asset replacement and shareholder change transactions, and could not judge the possible impact of this matter on the financial statements of *ST Zhongrun.

It is worth noting that according to the national enterprise credit information publicity system, Reistone Property currently holds 100% of the equity of Mawei Titanium Industry. Although from the perspective of equity relationship, Ren Bo, the actual controller of Ruishi Property, has no relationship with *ST Zhongrun, Tianyan check shows that Ren Bo may have intersected with former executives of Zibo Real Estate.

Tianyancha information shows that the natural person who currently holds 90% of the shares of Shandong Reistone Real Estate Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Reistone Real Estate") is also called "Ren Bo", and in August 2021, "Ren Bo" became the shareholder and actual controller of Reistone Real Estate, when it replaced the position of the natural person "Sun Hai"; After "Sun Hai" stepped down from Ruishi Real Estate, he served as the legal representative and general manager of Zibo Real Estate, and in November 2023, "Sun Hai" will no longer serve as the general manager of Zibo Real Estate.

In view of the above information, Ren Bo, the current actual controller of Mawei Titanium Industry, and the executives of Zibo Real Estate may have known each other since 2021. However, the above information is only compiled from platforms such as Tianyancha, and the reporter of "Daily Economic News" cannot verify the resume and accuracy of the information.

In the letter of inquiry, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange asked *ST Zhongrun to explain whether the original shareholders of Mawei Titanium Industry, Ren Bo and their affiliates have any related relationship with *ST Zhongrun and its controlling shareholders, actual controllers, directors, supervisors and senior executives of the company and their affiliates, or any form of business and capital exchanges, cooperation sources and other circumstances that may cause other interests to be skewed.

In addition, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange also requires *ST Zhongrun to explain the reasons for the change of shareholders of Mawei Titanium Industry within 4 days after the completion of the above-mentioned asset replacement, explain the time and main content of the agreement when the original shareholders of Mawei Titanium Industry signed the equity transfer agreement and supplementary agreement (if any) with Reistone Property, and explain whether the change of shareholders of Mawei Titanium Industry constitutes a package transaction with the material asset replacement in combination with the content of the agreement and transaction arrangement, and explain whether there are related relationships and related party transactions that should be disclosed and not disclosed.

Deduction of non-net profit for 7 consecutive years

The shortage of working capital restricts mine production

*The full name of ST Zhongrun is Zhongrun Resources Investment Co., Ltd., and its registered place is located in Jinan. As a veteran listed company, *ST Zhongrun's operating conditions have been worrying in recent years. Since 2017, the company has lost money for 7 consecutive years in terms of non-net profit that reflects the company's operating conditions.

According to public information, *ST Zhongrun's main business includes mining and sales with gold as the main variety, as well as leasing of its own properties.

In 2017, the real estate business once accounted for half of *ST Zhongrun's revenue. Since then, with the downturn in the real estate industry, the company has continuously adjusted its business structure, and as of 2022, the company's real estate sales business accounted for 2.46% of the revenue, while the gold sales business accounted for 86.93% of the revenue.

Judging from the 2023 financial report released by *ST Zhongrun, although the company has gradually completed the transformation to the gold mining industry and the international gold price rose sharply last year, *ST Zhongrun's performance is still unsatisfactory.

According to financial data, *ST Zhongrun will achieve operating income of 284 million yuan in 2023, an increase of 2.61% over the same period in 2022, and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 30.0173 million yuan, a decrease of 88.14% over the same period of the previous year. The decrease in profit was mainly due to a 56% decrease in investment income in 2023 compared to the same period last year.

However, *ST Zhongrun's 2023 financial report shows that the company's investment income in the reporting period was 182 million yuan, accounting for 1156.11% of the total profit, mainly due to the recognition of investment income of 175 million yuan from major asset replacement.

In this regard, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange requires *ST Zhongrun to explain the specific calculation process, recognition basis and reasonableness of the company's recognized investment income in the reporting period, and explain whether it complies with the relevant provisions of the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises in combination with the relevant accounting treatment.

The sharp rise in gold prices did not drive the performance of *ST Zhongrunfei, but on the other hand, the gold business is still highly expected by this company.

*ST Zhongrun mentioned in the financial report: "Looking forward to the gold market, the market is generally optimistic... The expectation of gold prices rising may make gold an indispensable part of the global financial market in 2024." ”

Regarding the company's gold mining assets, *ST Zhongrun said that the company's Vatukola gold mine in Fiji is located in the northern part of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island, with mining rights covering an area of 12.55 square kilometers. As of December 31, 2023, the total retained gold metal resources were approximately 116.95 tonnes (approximately 3.76 million ounces) and reserves were approximately 33.1 tonnes (approximately 1.064 million ounces). As Fiji's largest private sector employer, Vatukola Gold Mine has considerable status and influence in Fiji's national economy.

However, since May, *ST Zhongrun's share price has continued to fall, and on May 20, some investors even asked on the interactive platform: "Is the company's gold mine real?" ”

*ST Zhongrun replied to the above question on the 22nd: The company owns the Watukola gold mine in Fiji, which is real. Fiji's Watukola Gold Mine has been mined for 90 years, employing more than 1,000 local employees and has considerable status and influence in the national economy of the Republic of Fiji. The company also plans to carry out a complete and thorough renovation of the mine's original mining system. *ST Zhongrun also said: "At present, the shortage of working capital is still the main reason restricting the progress of mine production and renovation and expansion. ”

According to the financial data, as of December 31, 2023, the balance of current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet of *ST Zhongrun was 907 million yuan, the balance of current assets was 229 million yuan, the current liabilities were higher than the current assets of 678 million yuan, and the amount of undistributed profit was -366 million yuan. At the same time, some debts have been overdue, and the short-term debt repayment pressure is greater, and it is facing greater liquidity risks.

In order to improve the company's situation, *ST Zhongrun has taken the following measures: actively negotiate with creditors and strive to renew or extend the debts that have matured and are about to mature; Revitalize the stock assets, increase the collection of receivables, and strive to actively raise the funds required by the company through a variety of financing channels and methods; Actively carry out various financing work, supplement the company's working capital, alleviate the company's financial pressure, and stabilize the company's development.

Reporter|Peng FeiEditor|Lu Xiangyong, Wen Duo, Gai Yuanyuan

Proofreading|Wang Yuelong

Cover picture source: Daily Economic News data map

|National Business Daily nbdnews original article|

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