FUQI INTERNATIONAL (NASDAQ:FUQI)

8k  6/11/2013

 On December 21, 2012, Fuqi International, Inc. (the “Company”) reported that the Company had received a “Wells Notice” from the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) indicating its intent to recommend to the SEC that it institute a public administrative proceeding against the Company pursuant to Section 12(j) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company also reported that the Staff of the SEC has offered the Company an opportunity to provide a written response to this proposed action by 5:00 pm EST on January 10, 2013, which response date has been extended by the Staff of the SEC on several occasions. Pursuant to the Company’s recent request, the Staff of the SEC has extended the response date to July 1, 2013.

In their identical Resignation Letters, Ms. Brody and Mr. Hollander each stated that their resignations were the result of, among other things:

(i) the Company’s and management’s alleged failure to pay the fees of legal, auditing and other professional services engaged by the Audit Committee and

(ii) management’s alleged assumption of responsibility and authority for engaging a professional accounting firm without the approval of the Audit Committee. Because of the alleged failures to pay such fees and management’s role in engaging such professional accounting firm, Ms. Brody and Mr. Hollander stated that the Audit Committee had been rendered incapable of performing the functions assigned to it under the Audit Committee Charter.

SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- FUQI International, Inc. (OTC Pink: FUQI) today announced that Mr. Frederick Wong has resigned from his position as Chief Financial Officer of the Company due to personal health reasons, effective July 31, 2011.  Mr. Wong will continue to work for the Company serving in a non-executive management role and will continue to assist in the transition of his Chief Financial Officer responsibilities after his resignation date.

The Company is in the process of identifying qualified successor candidates for the Company's Chief Financial Officer position.  Mr. Kim K. T. Pan, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, will serve as the Interim Chief Financial Officer until a permanent replacement is appointed.  

Mr. Yu Kwai Chong, Chairman of the Board, commented, "I would like to thank Fred for his years of service and valuable contributions to the Company. We are taking the appropriate steps to ensure that his role is properly transitioned and look forward to appointing a new and highly qualified replacement in the near future."

SHENZHEN, China, June 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- FUQI International, Inc. (OTC Pink Ltd: FUQI.PK) today announced the appointment of Kim K. T. Pan as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Pan will work closely with Yu Kwai Chong, the Company's former Chief Executive Officer, who will continue to serve as the Company's Chairman of the Board.

"We are pleased that Kim will be joining the Company as President and CEO," stated Mr. Chong. "Kim brings tremendous knowledge and expertise as a seasoned executive. Kim's success lies in his strong values, strategic thinking, tactical execution and excellent track record of management and growth. His management style is based on developing high performance work teams, and making sure that everyone is connected, informed and aligned with the vision and values of the organization. His leadership and experience will be invaluable in guiding our growth and separating the roles of Chairman and CEO will have the important benefit of strengthening Fuqi's corporate governance practices."

Mr. Pan, who is fluent in English and Chinese, is a seasoned executive with more than 30 years of experience in management and financial operations, business development, and corporate governance. Mr. Pan has served as a director of Fuqi since October 2010. From 1999 to 2011, Mr. Pan has served as the President and as a member of the Board of Directors of Continental Carbon Company, a developer, manufacturer and marketer of carbon-related products. Prior to that, he served as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. While at Continental Carbon Company, Mr. Pan was able to actively develop and execute operating and strategic plans to transform the company into a lean and focused organization able to effectively compete in the commodity chemicals market.

Mr. Pan received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, Austin, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

"I am very excited to have the opportunity to join the Fuqi management team," said Mr. Pan. "I am honored to assume the leadership of Fuqi and look forward to working with the Board and management team to strengthen Fuqi's corporate governance and platform for future growth."

SHENZHEN, China, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- FUQI International, Inc. (Nasdaq: FUQI) today announced that, as anticipated, the Company received written notice on March 28, 2011, that the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel (the "Panel") has determined to delist the Company's securities from The NASDAQ Stock Market, effective with the open of business on Tuesday, March 29, 2011.

As previously announced, the Company has been advised by Pink OTC Markets Inc., which operates an electronic quotation service for securities traded over-the-counter, that its securities are immediately eligible for quotation on the Pink Sheets.  The Company anticipates that its shares will continue to trade under the symbol FUQI.

On March 21, 2011, FUQI International, Inc. received a notice of noncompliance from The NASDAQ Stock Market due to the Company’s inability to timely file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which constitutes an additional basis for the delisting of the Company’s securities from The NASDAQ Stock Market.

As previously reported, the Company has been in the process of preparing restated  financial statements for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, June 30, and September 30, 2009 and had received notices from NASDAQ for not complying with NASDAQ's filing requirement as set forth in Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) (the “Rule”) because the Company had not filed its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and Forms 10-Q for each of the periods ended March 31, June 30, and September 30, 2010.

The Company appeared before the NASDAQ Hearings Panel on November 11, 2010, subsequent to which the Panel determined to continue the listing of the Company's common stock on The NASDAQ Stock Market subject to an extension through March 28, 2011, by which date the Company must file all delinquent reports with the SEC.  Under NASDAQ's rules, the extension through March 28, 2011 represents the maximum length of time that the Panel may grant the Company to come back into compliance with its rules.

Since the Company is not able to make all such filings by March 28, 2011 and no further extensions are available, the Company expects to receive a delisting determination from the Panel in the very near term indicating that the Company’s common stock will be delisted from The NASDAQ Stock Market.  The Company will provide additional disclosure upon receipt of such notice from NASDAQ.

Rodman & Renshaw on FUQI                          12/31/2010

FUQI: Terminating Coverage 

Termination of Coverage: Effective immediately, we are discontinuing research coverage of FUQI to better allocate resources within our coverage universe. Effective upon the termination of coverage any of our prior financial projections on this stock should not be relied upon. Our last rating on FUQI was Under Review.

Company Description 

Fuqi International, Inc. is a Chinese company engaged in designing, manufacturing and selling of precious metal jewelry in China. The company develops, promotes, distributes and sells a range of products in the Chinese luxury goods market. The Company’s products consist of a range of styles and designs made from gold and other precious metals, such as platinum and Karat gold (K-gold). The Company also produces jewelry items that contain diamonds and other precious stones on a custom-order basis. The Company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary Fuqi International Holdings Co., Ltd. (Fuqi BVI) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Shenzhen Fuqi Jewelry Co., Ltd. (Fuqi China). As of December 31, 2008, the Company had 69 jewelry retail counters and stores in China.

Recent Updates 

FUQI has not timely filed its financial statements since it reported the 3Q09 results. The delay in FUQI’s financial reporting was originally due to certain accounting errors identified during its SOX 404 audit. FUQI’s previously issued financial results for 1Q09~3Q09 could be materially impacted. FUQI was notified by the SEC of a formal investigation and received a subpoena for certain documents regarding its failure to file its financial results on time. On March 16, 2010 we put FUQI under review in relation to its delayed 2009 10-K filing. On August 17, 2010 the company received notification from NASDAQ for being out of compliance with NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 5250(c)(1), requiring timely filing of SEC periodic reports. The company was granted an exception deadline of September 28, 2010, by when it had to file its 10-K and 10-Q forms for FY09, 1Q FY10, and 2Q FY10.

Extension Granted 

On December 10, 2010, NASDAQ Listing Qualification Panel granted FUQI an additional extension to March 28, 2011 to regain the compliance with NASDAQ continued listing requirement of timely filing its financial reports. On September 28, 2010, the company received the delisting letter from NASDAQ for its failure to timely file the results, and the company requested a hearing to seek another extension.

Valuation

On March 16, 2010, we put our rating under review, mainly due to the delay of the company’s SEC filings. Currently we do not have financial projections for FY10 and FY11.


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Member FINRA.
Member SIPC.

Removing Fuqi Intl from the GeoBargain on the Radar List due to weak 2010 estimates. Will revisit if growth outlook improves.

Added to GeoBargain on the Radar on May 15, 2009 at $7.00

Current Price: $11.03

Reached a high of $32.68 on September 15, 2009

The Company anticipates total revenue for the 2009 fourth quarter to be approximately $175-$180 million, compared to its original fourth quarter 2009 forecast of $182.0-$191.0 million. Consolidated gross margin is expected to be in the 9%-10% range and diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $0.24 to $0.28 per share compared to original diluted per share estimates of $0.55-$0.60.

Mr. Yu Kwai Chong, Chairman and CEO of FUQI International commented, "We estimate slightly lower sales in the fourth quarter as some of our customers delayed orders to coincide more closely with the Chinese New Year holiday which occurred in mid-February. We also estimate that our gross margin was impacted by a higher product mix of lower margin wholesale products such as commemorative Chinese New Year gold bars which we estimate resulted in wholesale gross margin performance below our historic range. Fulfilling such orders can increase our market share and enhance brand awareness with new and existing customers, both of which are important for the long-term development of our wholesale business."

Source: PR Newswire (March 16, 2010)