Asian Bamboo

Asian Bamboo AG was a German agricultural enterprise headquartered in Hamburg that cultivated and processed bamboo, with its operating business directed from Fuzhou, China. It was listed in the Prime Standard of Deutsche Börse from 16 November 2007 and became part of a wave of Chinese company IPOs in Frankfurt that disappointed investors and in many cases proved to be dubious. The company reported initially very promising figures, with revenues and profits multiplying between 2007 and 2011, but always with negative cash flow caused by ongoing investments in high lease prepayments for cultivation areas. It later emerged that no corresponding economic benefit existed for these payments, other payment obligations, or the existing plantations, leading to substantial write-downs and further expenses. This resulted in a loss of around €200 million in the 2013 financial year, a multiple of what the company had reported in profits since its IPO. The management board responded by announcing increased activity in real estate. Annual financial statements for prior years had been audited and unconditionally certified by Deloitte & Touche (2010–2012) and BDO Deutsche Warentreuhand (2007–2009). At the end of February 2015, creditors of the insolvent company filed for insolvency; on 28 May 2015 Asian Bamboo announced it would also file for insolvency itself with the Hamburg Local Court, which it did on 15 June 2015. In September 2019 the company's stock exchange listing was revoked. At its peak, Asian Bamboo cultivated bamboo shoots and bamboo poles on 48,123 hectares of leased agricultural land across 36 plantations in China (as of 2015), using ecological methods. It also operated three raw processing facilities and one fine processing factory for bamboo shoots, employing around 300 people. The main sales market for bamboo shoots produced in China was Japan. In 2006, according to its own statements, Asian Bamboo produced around five percent of all organically grown bamboo shoot exports from the People's Republic of China. Bamboo poles were mainly sold in the Chinese domestic market.

Asian Bamboo AG was a German agricultural enterprise headquartered in Hamburg, with its operating business directed from Fuzhou, China. It was listed in the Prime Standard of Deutsche Börse from 16 November 2007. The company was part of a series of Chinese company IPOs in Frankfurt that disappointed investor expectations and in many cases proved to be dubious. The press reported on problems at Asian Bamboo; the German broadcaster ARD called it the "biggest dud" among Frankfurt's China stocks. Asian Bamboo initially reported very promising figures: reported revenues and profits multiplied between 2007 and 2011, but always with negative cash flow caused by ongoing investments in high lease prepayments for cultivation areas. It then emerged that no corresponding economic benefit existed for these payments, for further payment obligations, or for the existing plantations, resulting in substantial write-downs and further expenses. This led to a loss of around €200 million in the 2013 financial year, a multiple of what the company had reported in profits since its IPO. The management board responded by announcing increased activity in real estate. The auditor commented on this. Annual financial statements for prior years had been audited and unconditionally certified by Deloitte & Touche (2010–2012) and BDO Deutsche Warentreuhand (2007–2009). At the end of February 2015, creditors of the insolvent company filed for insolvency; on 28 May 2015 Asian Bamboo announced it would also file for insolvency itself with the Hamburg Local Court, which it did on 15 June 2015. In September 2019 the company's stock exchange listing was revoked. At its peak, Asian Bamboo cultivated bamboo shoots and bamboo poles on 48,123 hectares of leased agricultural land across 36 plantations in China (as of 2015), using ecological methods. It also operated three raw processing facilities and one fine processing factory for bamboo shoots, employing around 300 people. The main sales market for bamboo shoots produced in China was Japan. In 2006, according to its own statements, Asian Bamboo produced around five percent of all organically grown bamboo shoot exports from the People's Republic of China. Bamboo poles were mainly sold in the Chinese domestic market.

• Listed in the Prime Standard of Deutsche Börse

• Reported around five percent of all organically grown bamboo shoot exports from China

• Reported loss of around €200 million for the 2013 financial year

• Creditors filed for insolvency

• Announced intention to file for insolvency with Hamburg Local Court

• Filed for insolvency with Hamburg Local Court

• Stock exchange listing revoked

German-listed agricultural enterprise focused on organic bamboo cultivation and processing in China, primarily exporting bamboo shoots to Japan.

• Bamboo shoots

  Organically grown bamboo shoots, primarily exported to Japan.

• Bamboo poles

  Bamboo poles mainly sold in the Chinese domestic market.

1. 1Asian Bamboo - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Asian Bamboo - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org