Olam International refutes short-seller's claims of insolvency risks
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E-mail Xinhua, November 28, 2012
Singapore-listed commodities supplier Olam International moved quickly to issue a 45-page announcement on Wednesday in response to a report released earlier by U.S. short-seller Muddy Waters Research claiming that the company could collapse like U.S. energy trader Enron.
"We have sufficient liquidity to pursue our current business as well as future investment plans," it said.
The company said that its accounting practices, which had been questioned by Muddy Waters founder Carson Block at an investment conference last week, comply with the relevant standards in Singapore.
"Olam faces no risk of insolvency. We have proactively planned for an appropriate capital structure and raised the requisite equity and debt to meet our investment plans," it said.
"We refute the report's allegations which are false and misleading. Our rebuttal to the 133-page report demonstrates the lack of substance in the claims. Our message to Carson Block and Muddy Waters is therefore clear -- this time the mud won't stick," the statement said.
Share prices of Olam, which sources commodities such as cotton and other agricultural produces, continued to be under pressure following a report of 133 pages released on Tuesday by Muddy Waters. The report likens Olam to Enron, which collapsed in 2001 amid investigations into its accounting practices, and gives Olam a "strong sell" rating.
"We believe that the single biggest factor in Enron's collapse was its use of accounting techniques similar to Olam's value gains, " the report said.
Olam closed 3.85 percent lower at 1.5 Singapore dollars on Wednesday, following a drop of 6 percent on the previous day following the release of the detailed report.
Olam requested for a temporary trading halt on Wednesday morning to respond to the report issued by Muddy Waters. Share prices of the company had fallen by as much as more than 10 percent shortly after Block questioned the accounting practices and debt levels of Olam last week at an investment conference in London.
Olam responded with a strong defense and filed a libel lawsuit against both Block and Muddy Waters at the Singapore High Court. Block had responded by saying that he will defend himself should he have to.
Olam said on Wednesday that the report was aimed at creating investor panic and lacked substance.
Some analysts said some of the questions raised by Muddy Waters, like the high debt levels, were not new, while others were against Muddy Waters' assertion that Olam may collapse, giving the stock a "buy" rating.
Olam International is one of the largest firms listed in Singapore in terms of capitalization. It was the first Singapore- listed firm targeted by Muddy Waters, which had targeted Chinese firms listed overseas. Endi
