Independent Shareholders Urge Other Shareholders to Vote for Change at China Yuchai International's Special General Meeting
August 10 2009 - 2:14PM
PR Newswire (US)
RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The below letter to
shareholders is being issued by Shah Capital Management, Trellus
Management, Quasar Capital Management and Mr. Muller: China Yuchai
International (ticker CYD, listed on the New York Stock Exchange),
has a history of failing to file accurate annual financials in a
timely fashion, little communication with the investment community
and a total lack of transparency. In May of this year a group of
independent shareholders, some of whom had been working to affect
change at the company for more than 2 years, sent a letter to the
board offering a final opportunity to engage in constructive
dialogue in private and make changes to address the shortcomings
outlined above. Unfortunately, management refused to enter into
discussions and shareholders have been left with no choice but to
demand that the company call a special meeting of shareholders. The
board of directors currently has no allegiance to the majority of
the shareholders. The reason for this is a so-called "special
share" that gives one minority shareholder, Hong Leong Asia, owner
of 21.2% of the outstanding stock, the right to appoint a majority
of the directors and to veto any proposal by any other
shareholders, even if they are passed by an overwhelming majority
of shares. The special shareholders' meeting will be asked to vote
for the elimination of the Special Share, the removal of two
directors - Mr. Teo Tong Kooi, the former president and the head of
the audit committee, Mr. Tan Aik-Leang, who was responsible for
overseeing issuance of financial statements at a time when the
annual audited statements were filed up to a year late. Also, no
quarterly statements were issued at all until very recently 1st
Quarter of 2009 results were released without a conference call.
The shareholders will also be asked to allow the independent
shareholders to elect two independent directors with relevant
industry experience. After first distributing proxies recommending
a vote "for" the proposals from the shareholders, China Yuchai
International's (CYI) board of directors changed its mind, stated
it made a mistake and now asks for a vote "against" these
proposals. This action clearly shows their lack of competence. What
does an independent, impartial proxy advisory firm think about
this? Proxy Governance, Inc. in a nine page analysis recommends a
vote "for" the independent shareholders' proposals. Their
conclusions regarding China Yuchai and its board include comments
such as: ". . .manifestly poor governance and management practices.
. .", ". . .questionable business decisions. . ." and ". . . the
company's significant failures to proactively support shareholder
value. . ." China Yuchai International's Special general meeting
will take place on September 4th, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur. We
encourage all shareholders of CYI to review Proxy Governance,
Inc.'s analysis before casting their votes. In light of the limited
time remaining before the meeting, we also urge the shareholders to
vote on the internet. We would like to STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF
YOUR VOTE as two thirds of the common share majority is needed to
pass the binding resolutions. We also make a request to the board
of CYI to publicly release the proxy results "For" and "Against"
after the Special General meeting. About Shareholders (Shah Capital
Management, Quasar Capital Management, Trellus Management, Mr.
Muller) Shah Capital Management, based in Raleigh, is an SEC
registered investment advisor to private investment fund as well as
separately managed accounts Trellus Management is a private money
manager based in New York Quasar Capital Management is a private
money manager based in New York Mr. Muller is an investor and
entrepreneur based in Connecticut Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward Looking Statements This letter contains forward-looking
statements. All statements contained in this letter that are not
clearly historical in nature or that necessarily depend on future
events are forward-looking, and the words "anticipate," "believe,"
"expect," "estimate," "plan," and similar expressions are generally
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements
are based on our current expectations and currently available
information. They are not guarantees of future performance, involve
certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and
are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove
to be accurate. We do not assume any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this letter. Shah Capital
Management, Don Espey +1-919 719 6364 Quasar Capital Management
+1-212 521 3823 DATASOURCE: Shah Capital Management CONTACT: Shah
Capital Management, Don Espey, +1-919-719-6364 Web Site:
http://www.shahcapital.com/
Copyright