Chinese companies finding credibility abroad

By Cecily Liu (China Daily) Updated: 2015-08-10 07:11

Su, of GTS, added that strong growth of a Chinese company's share price will be achieved after the company takes the time to prove to shareholders that its revenue will achieve forecasts and the company keeps its promise to pay dividends, as has been demonstrated by GTS Chemical Holdings.

"Our key advantage is that the company's revenue has experienced a strong growth, that we have strong corporate governance and transparency, we have good communications with investors, and that we have kept our promise of dividend to them," Su said.

According to the company's annual report, sales in 2014 reached 704.6 million yuan ($113.5 million), a 45.9 percent growth from 482.9 million yuan in 2013.

Su said the decision to list in London was due to the exchange's strict corporate governance requirements. This has helped GTS to build up brand reputation and trust with its distributors.

"In the lubricating oil sector especially, having a foreign listing really helps to send out the signal that we are a reputable company, and we have seen this effect since our IPO," Su said.

GTS also used the listing process as an opportunity to strengthen its corporate governance to a much higher standard. It has created a board of directors, of which four are non-executive directors, with three from a financial background, so that they could ensure the company's financial statements are prepared to the highest standards.

"Our board of directors would have meetings every month, so there is absolute transparency between us. We also keep our non-executive directors informed of the latest updates in the company, so that they can communicate our message to investors very accurately," Su said.

The company announced its intention to pay a dividend to shareholders at the time of listing, which it has confirmed this year. The company intends the dividend to be about 5 percent of the price at which its shares were placed when it listed, so, as the shares were placed at 36 pence that implies a payout of around 1.8 pence.

"The fact that we have kept our promise boosted investors' confidence in us," Su said.

At the time of IPO, GTS Chemical Holdings raised 3.23 million pounds. Su said this was below the company's forecasts, although in the future his managers may consider secondary fundraising when the time is right.

Su said he believes Chinese companies listed on overseas exchanges would continue to be attractive in the long term because they enable Western investors access to China's high economic growth.

"Although the Chinese economy is slowing, its growth is still rapid compared to many Western economies, so the China story will still be attractive to Western investors. From the company perspective, we just have to make sure that we communicate our message well," he said.