EANS-Adhoc: Balda AG
Balda AG has conducted itself lawfully with respect to
subsidies in China
Company rejects reproaches in the Handelsblatt report
29.09.2011 – 16:36
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ad-hoc disclosure pursuant to section 15 of the WpHG transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company Information 29.09.2011 Bad Oeynhausen, 29th September 2011 - Balda AG, listed on the SDax of the Frankfurt stock exchange, rejects the reproach published by the Handelsblatt (29th September 2011). According to the report, the Balda Group´s Chinese subsidiary - BTO - was purported to have surreptitiously obtained subsidies from the Chinese government. Balda asserts that: BTO has conducted itself in a correct and lawful manner. To date, Chinese officials have made no objections whatsoever. BTO was entitled to the subsidy payments. In contrast to the claims published by the Handelsblatt, the total subsidies received in 2010 amounted not to 54 million Renminbi (6.2 million Euros) but rather to 1.8 million Renminbi (approx. 0.2 million Euros). According to the Handelsblatt, the factory used in order to surreptitiously obtain the subsidies was spurious and did not exist. The truth is: The factory is a newly built, modern production facility located in the economic zone of Ling Kong, close to Beijing Airport. The commissioning of the 13,700 m2 production space and start of production took place in July 2010. An additional subsidy granted to Balda in China in 2008 - amounting to 17 million Renminbi (around 1.9 million Euros) - on the occasion of the acquisition of the rights to the plot for the aforementioned factory, at a cost of 54 million Renminbi (6.2 million Euros), has also resulted in no objections from Chinese officials. end of ad-hoc-announcement ================================================================================ Company profile of Balda AG The Balda Group develops and produces complete plastic assemblies, electronic products and products for the medical technology industry. Balda´s customers are leading companies in the mobile phone, consumer electronics, electronic communications, pharmaceutical and medical technology markets. The Group is internationally positioned with production sites in China, Malaysia and Germany. A subsidiary in the USA serves North American customers in product design and development. Within the scope of its shareholding in a leading touchscreen manufacturer in China, Balda is participating in the dynamic development of the touchscreen displays market. This ad-hoc announcement contains forward-looking statements, which are based on the current expectations of Balda´s management. They therefore contain a range of risks and uncertainties because they relate to future events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future, such as, for example, developments in the mobile communications industry, changes in technology and the ability to timely and successfully develop new products and various other factors. Balda will neither revise these forward-looking statements nor correct them in the event of any unexpected development, unless there is a legal obligation to do so. This ad-hoc announcement represents neither an offer to buy shares nor an invitation to submit an offer to buy shares in the United States or any other country. The shares in Balda AG (the "shares") may not be offered or sold in the United States or to or for the account of U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, in its current version (the "Securities Act")), unless they are registered or are exempt from registration under the Securities Act. The shares have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act. Further inquiry note: Clas Röhl Tel.: +49 (0) 5734 922-2728 croehl@balda.de end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- issuer: Balda AG Bergkirchener Str. 228 D-32549 Bad Oeynhausen phone: +49 (0) 5734 9 22-0 FAX: +49 (0) 5734 922-2747 mail: info@balda.de WWW: http://www.balda.de sector: Semiconductors & active components ISIN: DE0005215107 indexes: CDAX, Prime All Share stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, München language: English