Smoke bombs and pepper spray: latest twist in fight for China cement maker

China Shanshui Cement

10/04/2017 09:47

HONG KONG, April 10 (Reuters) - China Shanshui Cement Group 
Ltd  0691.HK  said its executives were attacked with pepper 
spray, smoke bombs and water guns and then held for two hours by 
associates of a former official when they tried to retake 
control of company property. 
    According to the Securities Times newspaper, Shanshui Cement 
executives organised a crowd of around 600 people, wearing red 
arm bands, white gloves and wielding sticks and axes, to storm 
and gain control of a company facility in the city of Jinan. 
    The abnormally hostile corporate battle is the latest 
development in current management's dispute with former deputy 
general manager Mi Jingtian. Accusing him of "suspected 
misconduct", the company said in December it had suspended Mi 
from his duties at unit Shandong Shanshui and all its 
subsidiaries. 
    Shanshui Cement said in its filing on Monday it had 
appointed legal advisers to take action against Mi and his 
associates over what it described as an illegal occupation and 
criminal action. 
    Mi could not be reached for comment. It was not known if he 
has retained a lawyer. 
    Photos run by business website Sina.com showed smoke 
billowing from a facility described as the Shanshui Cement 
plant. 
    An employee at the affected Shanshui Cement facility who 
answered the phone told Reuters there had been a confrontation. 
The employee, who declined to identify himself, also said that 
Mi had 'acted lawfully'. 
    Jinan police could not be reached for comment. Other contact 
numbers for Shanshui Cement, either in Jinan or Hong Kong could 
not be obtained. 
    Shares in Shanshui Cement have been suspended since April 
2015 as its public float fell below the 25 percent minimum level 
required after Tianrui Group raised its stake to become the 
company's biggest shareholder. A Tianrui representative was not 
immediately available for comment. 
    At the end of February, its unit Shandong Shanshui Cement 
defaulted on a 1 billion yuan ($146 million) bond.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1GC3VA 
 
 (Reporting by Donny Kwok and Umesh Desai in HONG KONG, Adam 
Jourdan and SHANGHAI NEWSROOM; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; 
Editing by Edwina Gibbs) 
 ((annemarie.roantree@thomsonreuters.com; +852 97387151; Reuters 
Messaging: annemarie.roantree.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SHANSHUI CEMENT MANAGEMENT/