Lumena
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| SEHK: 67 | |
| Industry | Mining, plastics, laxatives |
| Headquarters | Chengdu, , |
| Products | Laxatives, PPS resin, PPS compounds and PPS fiber |
| Website | [] |
China Lumena New Materials (commonly called Lumena) was a Chinese miner of glauberite and associated class of minerals and manufacturer of plastics and thenardite products including laxatives. It falsely claimed to be the largest manufacturer of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) in the world by volume of production capacity.[1]
History
The company traces its origins to 1952.[2] In June 2009, the company raised US$149 million in an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[3] Although the company had planned to launch an IPO in 2008, the Sichuan earthquake that year delayed the plans.
The Hong Kong listed company was suspended from trading by the exchange after Glaucus, a short seller investment research firm, published a report that alleged sales stated by the company were fraudulently inflated.[4]
On January 19, 2015, Mega Bank, a creditor, filed a winding up petition against Lumena to institute involuntary insolvency proceedings for the company before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands.[5]
Mining
The vertically integrated company mines glauberite from two captive mines in Sichuan at the Dahongshan Mining Area and the Guangji Mining Area. The mineral that is extracted is then used to produce natural thenardite products and PPS, the two manufacturing business segments of the company.
The company announced the acquisition in June 2011 of two mining companies in Meishan, Sichuan, but canceled the planned acquisition in announcement in April 2012.[6]
Product segments
PPS
Lumena claimed to manufacture PPS, a plastic with many engineering applications. It claimed to be one of a handful of global manufacturers of PPS with competitors including Solvay (which bought the PPS business from Chevron Philips), Chengdu Letian, DIC Corporation, Kureha, Fortron (a joint venture between Kureha and Ticona), Toray Industries, and Tosoh.[1] Lumena claimed to have the most production capacity volume but it turned out to be a misleading claim.[1]
This line of business began after the acquisition in 2010 of Sino Polymer New Materials Co., Ltd., a PPS manufacturer, that owned and operated two plants in Deyang and Chengdu in Sichuan.[7] The goal behind the acquisition was to build a vertically integrated company as one of the main feedstocks in producing PPS is thenardite.
Thenardite
Derived from minerals from the company's mines, the other major product segment produced by the company is natural thenardite products, which is mainly divided into sales of either medical thenardite or powder thenardite. The edible medical thenardite is used as a laxative and anti-inflammatory agent while powder thenardite is an ingredient of powdered laundry detergent.[8] Procter & Gamble is a major buyer of powdered thenardite from the company, using it to make laundry detergent.[8]
References
- ^ a b c "Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS) Market Analysis By Application (Automotive, Coating, Electrical and Electronics, Filter & Filter Bags, Industrial) And Segment Forecasts To 2020". Grand View Research.
- ^ "Lumena seeks at least $128 million from IPO". Finance Asia. June 1, 2009.
- ^ "Lumena Resources closes second-largest IPO". China Law & Practice. June 23, 2009.
- ^ "Lumena suspends trading, delays report amid claims of 'misrepresenting' financials". Plastic News. April 18, 2015.
- ^ "ANNOUNCEMENT (1) WINDING UP PETITION AGAINST THE COMPANY (2) CLARIFICATION OF ANNOUNCEMENT DATED 2 DECEMBER 2014 AND (3) UPDATE ON THE DEBT POSITION OF THE GROUP" (PDF). China Lumena New Materials.
- ^ "Lumena Falls 28% in Hong Kong as Acquisition Deal Pulled". Bloomberg. April 1, 2012.
- ^ "Lumena Acquires PPS Resin Producer Sino Polymer".
- ^ a b "China's Lumena to boost, capacity, mkt shr in 2010". Reuters. November 5, 2010.