Kangmei Pharmaceutical
Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (Chinese: 广东康美药业股份有限公司; pinyin: Guǎngdōng Kāngměi Yàoyè Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī; abbreviated 康美药业; Kāngměi Yàoyè) is a large pharmaceutical company based in Guangdong with headquarters in Puning and Shenzhen.[1][2] Kangmei Pharmaceutical produces medication and medical equipment, with a focus on traditional Chinese medicine.[3][4] It is traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange[1] and had a market capitalization of more than 47 billion RMB in 2019.[1]
In 2019, Kangmei became embroiled in scandal when it disclosed that it had made false statements in past financial reports. The company and several of its employees were penalized by regulators, and the incident raised broader questions about financial regulation in China.
Products and services
[edit]Kangmei Pharmaceutical manufactures and distributes medication, ingredients for medication, health foods, and medical equipment. Its main focus is on traditional Chinese medicine.[3][4][5] Its products include American ginseng, angelica, clarithromycin, doxazosin mesylate, honeysuckle, notoginseng, paracetamol and pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, propiverine hydrochloride, radix codonopsis, and salvia.[5]
The company also does property management.[5]
Kangmei Pharmaceutica has a strong focus on the domestic market, with a presence in all provinces of China - more than 30 branches nationwide and over 10,000 employees.
The company's popular products include "Ganmaoling Granule", a traditional Chinese medicine for treating colds and flu, which has been in production for over 30 years. As well as dietary supplements "Qingkailing Capsules", designed to strengthen the immune system.
Another important direction of the company is the development of methods for treating various types of cancer. Kangmei has brought to the market several drugs for the treatment of lung cancer, breast cancer and other tumours.[6]
History
[edit]In 1997, entrepreneur Ma Xingtian founded Kangmei Pharmaceutical in Puning, Jieyang, Guangdong. The company began the process of demutualization in 2000, and it was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (ticker 600518) in an initial public offering in March 2001. The company has undergone share-trading reform.[3][4][7]
In 2019, Kangmei almost defaulted on bonds. Media sources reported that it was rescued by the Guangzhou city government.[1]
2016–2019 financial scandal
[edit]In 2019 Kangmei became involved in a scandal relating to its financial reports. The Financial Times called the incident "one of China's biggest accounting scandals in recent memory", while the South China Morning Post said it was "one of China's largest financial frauds".[8][9] According to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the company overstated its revenue by 29 billion RMB, overstated its profits by 4.1 billion RMB, and overstated its cash holdings by 88.7 billion RMB.[9] The incident led to concerns about China's reputation among international investors as well as questions about the adequacy of the country's financial regulation.[1][10][11]
In late 2018, Kangmei Pharmaceutical announced that it was under investigation for possible disclosure violations.[1] The CSRC noticed that the company was earning unusually little interest on its reported cash holdings,[12] and on 29 April 2019, the company announced that its 2017 annual report had overstated the company's cash holdings by 29.9 billion RMB.[13] The company also revised its 2017 operating revenue to 8.9 billion RMB less than previously reported.[1] Following the announcement, Kangmei's shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange fell by 10%, and trading was halted as they reached the maximum daily price move.[1]
The company initially said that the incorrect disclosure was due to an "accounting error".[1][10] On 29 May 2019 it said that faked documents were involved; this announcement caused its stock price to fall by the maximum daily price move again (at this time the limit was 5%, as the company had been moved to risk-alert status by the exchange).[9][8] By this point its shares had dropped by more than 60% since the accounting problems were first disclosed.[8]
On 17 May 2019, the CSRC's preliminary investigation found that the 2017 financial report was materially false;[14] the company was to be placed under Special Treatment (a formal warning that its stock could be delisted) on 21 May. On 16 August, the Securities Regulatory Commission completed its investigation, saying that Kangmei Pharmaceutical had committed "premeditated and malicious cheating of investors", and imposed administrative penalties on the company and 22 individuals as well as banning six parties from accessing the securities market.[15][16][17][9] Earlier in the year, the company had been fined 600,000 RMB, and several employees were fined amounts ranging from 100,000 to 900,000 RMB.[18] The penalties were described as "a slap-on-the-wrist fine" in the South China Morning Post, and Kangmei's share prices rose by 17.3% over the next week, hitting the maximum daily limit of 5% four times along the way.[9]
At the time of the scandal, Kangmei Pharmaceutical was included in MSCI's emerging markets index. The incident drew attention to the risks foreign investors might face when investing in funds that track the index, especially given the increasing weighting of Chinese companies in the index.[1][8] Following the incident, MSCI removed Kangmei Pharmaceutical from the index in June 2019.[19][20]
Additional penalties and litigation followed. In July 2020, Kangmei's actual controller Ma Xingtian was detained by police in connection with the fraud;[21] in November 2021 he was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined ¥1.2 million.[22] Also in July 2020, the CSRC temporarily banned GF Securities, which sponsored Kangmei's IPO, from sponsorship and bond underwriting due to its role in the scandal.[11][7] On 16 April 2021, the government-affiliated China Securities Investor Service Center sued Kangmei Pharmaceutical for financial fraud in a class-action lawsuit on behalf of more than 50 investors.[23][24][25] On 22 April 2021, Jiedong Rural Commercial Bank, one of Kangmei's creditors, sued the company for bankruptcy following huge losses in 2020.[26] On 12 November 2021, Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court ordered Kangmei to compensate investors for losses of ¥2.459 billion.,[27] and five of the company's independent directors, Guo Chonghui (郭崇慧), Zhang Ping (张平), Jiang Zhenping (江镇平), Li Ding'an (李定安), and Zhang Hong (张弘) were ordered to assume 5–10% joint liability. The ruling caused a wave of resignations among independent directors at listed companies in China.[28]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Kangmei's $4bn accounting error highlights China risk". Financial Times. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "联系我们 – 康美药业". www.kangmei.com.cn. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "直企争相布局养生旅游项目". Archived from the original on 28 July 2017.
- ^ a b c "【滬股通特搜】醫藥電商巨頭:康美藥業". Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
- ^ a b c "Kangmei Pharmaceutical". Forbes. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co ROCE 2024". Eulerpool. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Chinese regulator suspends GF Securities from sponsorship business". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Chinese pharma group admits using false documents". Financial Times. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Why is China's big fraud offender rallying in the stock market?". South China Morning Post. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ a b Shen, Samuel; Zhang, Shu (17 May 2019). "Chinese firms' missing $6 billion tests regulators' resolve". Reuters. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ a b "China vows 'zero tolerance' towards illegal market behavior". Reuters. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ Reid, David (8 May 2019). "One of China's biggest pharma stocks is falling in value by 10% every day". CNBC. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "康美药业发布更正公告 2017年报现金多计299亿元". 1 May 2019.
- ^ "财务造假坐实，康美药业果真拿钱去炒股了！". 17 May 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ 长期实施财务造假 康美药业6名当事人被禁入证券市场
- ^ 证监会对康美药业等作出处罚及禁入告知
- ^ 康美藥業實際控制人馬興田被採取強制措施
- ^ "Kangmei Pharmaceutical Fined $84,600 for $12.6 Billion Fraud – Caixin Global". Caixin. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "China accounting scandal threatens corporate fundraising". Financial Times. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Opening of China markets puts spotlight on auditors". Financial Times. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Former Kangmei Chairman Taken Into Police Custody – Caixin Global". Caixin. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "马兴田被判12年普宁首富告别资本市场 *ST康美两年亏324亿破产重整如期推进 _ 东方财富网". finance.eastmoney.com. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "康美药业遭集体诉讼 最新回应来了".
- ^ "康美药业3年造假约300亿 我国首单证券纠纷特别代表人诉讼正式启动".
- ^ "China's first class-action suit targets corporate fraud". Asia Financial. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Scandal-Plagued Kangmei Hit With Bankruptcy Restructuring Suit – Caixin Global". Caixin. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "康美药业证券集体诉讼一审宣判，虚假陈述侵权赔偿投资者损失24.59亿元".
- ^ ""康美药业案"巨额处罚独董震惊A股市场！8天18家公司独董辞职".