TCL denies rumors about wind power investment
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TCL Corporation denied reports Friday that it was planning to engage in wind power projects with a company in Laizhou, Shandong Province.
Shenzhen-listed TCL's shares soared by 6 percent in the morning session Thursday as rumors began to circulate that the company was expected to cooperate with Shandong Xinneng Taishan Power Generation Co by investing around 3 billion yuan ($462.9 million) to run wind power projects in Shandong Province.
On Thursday afternoon the company suspended trading of its shares.
"The rumor is totally not real," Guangdong-based TCL said in a statement Friday. "The company has never negotiated or signed any agreements related to wind power projects."
It is not the first time that the company's shares have soared because of rumors of investment in natural resources.
The company's shares soared by 9.14 percent in the morning session on April 24, following media reports that its subsidiary Xinjiang TCL Energy Company, would invest in a rare earth mine in Baicheng county, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. TCL denied the report.
The company announced on May 24 that Li Dongsheng, the major shareholder and chairman of TCL, would sell 40 million outstanding shares over the next three months to raise funds to pay off bank loans. Reports in the media suggested that his motivation was to cash in on his shares.
Li responded in his microblog on May 27 that he was upset about "distorted" media reports.
"It's very hard to judge why and how the rumors come out," Luo Qingqi, a home appliance expert and director of Pa Le Consulting Corporation, told the Global Times Sunday. "Naturally, investors are happy when the price of shares rise," he said.
Luo said it was common for major corporations to invest in different fields to seek more ways to gain profit.
Shares in TCL dropped by 4.42 percent Friday, closing at 3.03 yuan per share.
