Sino-Forest delays results, mulls asset sale

Sino-Forest Corporation (TRE.TSE), a Chinese-Canadian forestry firm that has been accused of fraud, plans to delay the release of its third-quarter earnings results, skip a nearly US$10-million interest payment due this week and consider selling some or all of the company, The Wall Street Journal reported, quoting a company statement Monday. The announcement represented an abrupt shift in the tone, following a November 15 statement that an independent committee had found no fraud and that the company would publish earnings within 30 days. Now, the company said, it needed to defer the release until it could fully answer questions raised by the independent committee about relationships with certain intermediaries and suppliers. Sino-Forest executives have strongly defended the company since short-seller research firm Muddy Waters accused the timber company of fraud in June. The Ontario Securities Commission halted trading of the company’s shares in August.