Hanergy Refutes Rumors, Blames Collective Sneak Attack By Short Sellers

The Standard: Hanergy trashes rumors

Hanergy Thin Film Power Group (0566) denied all rumors yesterday behind the stock's more than 40 percent plunge on Wednesday that wiped off HK$144.30 billion in its market capitalization.
Trading in Hanergy shares remain suspended. In an announcement on the company's official website, it said operations remain normal and it is in a good financial position.

It noted no large shareholder had reduced its stake as some media reports had speculated.

The company statement refuted the rumors, but an insider says the shorts did it.


Statement of Hanergy Holding Group Limited on Recent Media Reports

I. Our Group’s operations are normal in all respects and we maintain a good financial position with no overdue loans. There was no forced liquidation of the Group shares as cited in some media reports as the cause of the price plunge of the shares of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Limited (HKSE: 00566).

II. To date, our Group and its connected parties hold approximately 30.6 billion shares of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Limited, and there has been no recent reduction in these stock holdings.

III. Up to now, our Group has never conducted any financial derivative transaction or betting to any institution / individual on the shares of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Limited.

IV. On 20 May 2015, Hanergy Holding Group Chairman Li Hejun attended the opening ceremony of the Hanergy Renewable Energy Exhibition Center in Beijing. It is the world’s first exhibition center dedicated to renewable energy, with a solar focus. Mr. Li delivered a speech entitled “Change the World with Clean Power.”

V. Our Group has full confidence in the development of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Limited.

In the Chinese coverage, a company insider blames a sneak attack by a coordinated group of short sellers.

iFeng: 媒体称汉能遭海外机构集体偷袭 专挑股东会当日砸盘

Here's a story in Forbes in which the publicly short firms said they couldn't find any shares to borrow and didn't make much from the plunge: Hanergy's Stock Collapse Is A Frustrating Win For Handcuffed Short Sellers

ichthorn told Forbes he built a short in Hanergy amounting to 1% of Dialectic Capital’s total assets this year. However, adding to the trade through the course of May has been impossible.

Every morning for the past handful of trading days Ficthorn’s placed the same order with his Hong-Kong based brokers:

– Short six million shares of Hanergy.

Every day he’s received the same response:

– Wait in line.

...“It has been impossible to short Hanergy,” Fichthorn told Forbes in a Wednesday afternoon telephone interview. “Whoever has been trading the stock has been doing it in such a way to prevent it from being shorted or sold,” he added.

...“What is bizarre is that in all the years of shorting Hong Kong stocks, I’ve never had this problem before,” says Fichthorn of his inability to short stocks.

...Fichthorn believes there is an element of fraud that’s pushing some Chinese stocks relentlessly upwards. Meanwhile, a FT investigation shows suspicious trading activity in Hanergy and other stocks.

Here's the FT Investigation: Q&A: What is going on at Hanergy?