Three Board members of China Aviation Oil fined by Singapore court

Three board members of the China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp. (CAO), which sought bankruptcy protection 18 months ago, were fined on Thursday by a Singapore court, said sources with the parent company, China Aviation Oil Holding Company (CAOHC).

The three board members include Jia Changbin, chairman of CAO, Gu Yanfei, head of CAO's restructuring task force, and Li Yongji, CAO's head on financial department. The three were brought to the court for delaying a report on CAO required by the Singapore Exchange Market.

A senior Singapore lawyer said the three board members did not delay reporting intentionally.

The court has not reached a verdict against CAO's former chairman Chen Jiulin who is facing several charges relating to CAO's bankruptcy, said the CAOHC.

CAO, which enjoyed a monopoly on importing jet fuel to China, shocked financial markets in November 2004 after it disclosed losses of about 550 million U.S. dollars from trading oil derivatives and applied to Singapore's High Court for protection from creditors.

Nearly a month ago, CAO announced it has reshuffled its board of directors, which will be composed of nine directors, four from CAO, two from BP and three are independent directors.

The CAOHC has accomplished its stock deal with British oil giant BP Plc., and Singapore's Temasek Holdings Limited at the end of last year.

The CAOHC has injected 75.77 million U.S.dollars into CAO. In addition, BP will invest 44 million U.S. dollars in CAO for 20 percent of its shares, and Temasek will purchase 4.65 percent of shares with 10.23 million U.S. dollars.

Source: Xinhua