Tan Tao shares suspended from trading after 30 auditing firms avoid them for fear of fraud

In recent years, Tan Tao has been involved in a series of scandals. Currently, the company is shunned by auditing companies - Photo: QUANG DINH

Stock trading suspended, all 30 auditing firms do not want to get involved

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) has just announced that it will transfer shares of Tan Tao Investment and Industry Joint Stock Company (stock code ITA) from restricted to suspended trading.

The reason is that the business continues to violate regulations on information disclosure.

Specifically, recently Tan Tao has been continuously reminded by the securities market management agency.

But up to now, the audited financial statements and annual reports for 2023 and semi-annual reviewed financial statements for 2024 have not been announced.

Last month, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong – General Director of Tan Tao – on behalf of the company requested the State Securities Commission and the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange to temporarily postpone the publication of the above documents.

The company explained that despite its best efforts, contacting and persuading all auditing companies (30 companies approved to audit public interest entities in the securities sector in 2023), they were all rejected.

Previously, the State Securities Commission suspended and revoked the practice licenses of 4 people who audited Tan Tao's financial statements in 2021 and 2022, and the semi-annual audited financial statements in 2023.

Businesses say this makes auditing firms nervous.

No end to the scandals

Tan Tao is associated with the names of Ms. Dang Thi Hoang Yen (new name Maya Dangelas, American nationality) and Mr. Dang Thanh Tam (younger brother, chairman of Kinh Bac Urban Development Corporation).

The company has been through a lot of ups and downs in recent times. In mid-2024, Tan Tao was forced to stop customs clearance for import and export goods due to tax arrears.

Then, at the 2024 annual general meeting of shareholders, Chairwoman Hoang Yen continued to participate online from the US. Responding to shareholders about the sharp decline in ITA stock price, she said: "Since May 2022, ITA has been sabotaged by many forces aiming to take over." She and domestic and foreign shareholders all want this stock to increase in price again.

In 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court ordered Tan Tao to open bankruptcy proceedings. The company explained the case to the securities market management agency, expressing its opposition to the court's decision.

Near the end of 2022, investors were abuzz when, in its first self-prepared semi-annual financial report for 2022, Tan Tao recorded an advance payment of more than VND 1,900 billion to Ms. Hoang Yen.

After public discussion, this company reported that it had “miscalculated” and corrected the account to: the receivable from Ms. Yen was 633 billion VND. However, when the auditing unit appeared, the receivable from Ms. Yen suddenly disappeared.

Not to mention, according to the management report for the first half of 2022, the company transacted approximately VND 320 billion with Ms. Yen, including more than VND 223 billion in investment trust. The above problems have made many investors worried.

Stocks fall sharply

From a business that once reached a revenue milestone of thousands of billions of VND and a net profit of hundreds of billions of VND in the period 2008-2010, Tan Tao's business activities gradually declined and it became in debt.

Ms. Hoang Yen also suddenly disappeared from many annual general meetings of shareholders. She returned in 2021, using a new name.

Based on the self-prepared financial report, in the first half of 2024, Tan Tao earned more than 140 billion VND in revenue, a slight decrease compared to the same period last year.

After deducting expenses, the company still retains a profit after tax of nearly 65 billion VND (+65%). Thus, the company has only completed 12% of the revenue target and 36% of the profit target for the year, meaning the gap is still long.

According to the consolidated balance sheet prepared by the company itself, as of mid-year, Tan Tao had assets of more than VND12,200 billion, a slight decrease compared to the beginning of the year. Liabilities were close to VND1,900 billion. Owners' equity reached nearly VND10,400 billion.

In the real estate industry, this enterprise has made many impressions with industrial parks such as Tan Tao (HCMC), Tan Duc (Long An), Nhon Hoi (Binh Dinh), Nhon Trach (Dong Nai)... Nam Du deep-water seaport project, Kien Luong power center (Kien Giang)...

On the stock market, the ITA code once skyrocketed to nearly 20,000 VND/share, but during this time it usually hovered around 3,000-4,000 VND.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/co-phieu-tan-tao-bi-dinh-chi-giao-dich-sau-khi-bi-30-hang-kiem-toan-ne-vi-so-20240917001918486.htm