I was alerted to Common Sense Investing's posting about China Stationery, one of the China listed companies on Bursa.

The posting referred to an article of Tong Kooi Ong in The Edge. The discrepancy in interest rate received versus the interest rate paid is worrisome. It has been observed in other China companies, in which reported cash was simply hugely overstated. China Stationery claims it owns more than RM 1 Billion cash, an unbelievable amount, that is, if it is for real (I have my doubts).

Common Sense Investing also wrote a previous article about the company, about a puzzling announcement that the CEO was "demised".

One website writes about the uncertainty:


"There is uncertainty surrounding Jiang Danping, the CEO of Chinese manufacturer China Stationery. In an 8 October filing to the Malaysian stock market to announce a boardroom change, China Stationery said that 54-year-old Jiang Danping had 'demised' on 1 October. A number of Malaysian publications have interpreted the wording of the stock market filing as meaning that Jiang Danping has died, although this is still being questioned on some financial forums. We'll provide an update as soon as we have more information."


But the update never came.

Here is one of the definitions of the word "demise" (I only give the first two):

1. death or decease.
2. termination of existence or operation: the demise of the empire. 

If the CEO really passed away (the first definition), one would expect a date of passing, plus on the company website an eulogy, but I can't find any.

If the CEO did not pass away (the second definition), then what was the reason for his termination? Surely shareholders are entitled to know that.

Also, the CEO owned shares in the holding company of CSL, rather important. And in most companies, the CEO is the most important executive, should he not be replaced?

The confusing situation around the CEO is puzzling, to say the least.

The following information I found in the last year report:


Many China companies were listed on the SGX during that time (and many failed), the fact that CSL's IPO was aborted in 2010 must be a large red flag.

The CFO has also resigned, in 2012.

The auditor is oddly enough from Singapore.

Too many red flags, and the trust has gone, the graph of the share price is not pretty:




In an interview with KiniBiz, the Chairman mentioned:

“The stock market moves up and down like the ebb and flow of the tides,” he explained when asked if he was concerned about the sorry performance of his company’s stock.

But I only see the share going down.