Sino-Forest Corporation, a commercial forest plantation operator in China, recently made the following statement in response to the incorrect portrayal of its business provided by The Globe and Mail in an article published on Saturday, June 18th.
At the heart of The Globe and Mail’s article is the assertion that there is a discrepancy between the Company’s public disclosure regarding its 2007 Master Agreement with Gengma Dai and Wa Tribes Autonomous County Forestry Limited ("Gengma Dai and Wa") for the purchase of plantations in the province of Yunnan (the "Master Agreement" - filed in the dataroom on the Company’s website), acquisitions made under it, and the description of the Master Agreement and related acquisitions that was apparently provided by Gengma Dai and Wa to The Globe and Mail. There is no discrepancy. The Chairman of Gengma Dai and Wa, Mr. Xie Hongting, was introduced by Sino-Forest to The Globe and Mail in an open attempt to address some of its many questions. After the interview with Mr. Xie, the Company had its own background interview with The Globe and Mail, during which it became clear there were some factual misunderstandings regarding the Company’s ownership of trees in Yunnan. The Company informed The Globe and Mail that Mr. Xie would clarify the relationship between both parties. However, The Globe and Mail chose not to wait for Gengma Dai and Wa’s complete description of its relationship with Sino-Forest.
