BEIJING, Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – General
Steel Holdings, Inc. ("General Steel" or the "Company") (NYSE:
GSI), one of China's leading
non-state-owned producers of steel products and aggregators of
domestic steel companies, today announced that its Audit Committee
of the Board of Directors has appointed Friedman LLP ("Friedman")
as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm.
Friedman is replacing PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian CPAs
Limited Company ("PwC"). The appointment of Friedman is
effective immediately.
The change in auditors was not due to any disagreement between
the Company and PwC on any matter of accounting principles or
practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or
procedures.
The Company intends on remaining listed on the New York Stock
Exchange ("NYSE"), which requires it meet the filing extension date
for the Annual Report set by NYSE, although the Company is subject
to ongoing assessment by NYSE. Therefore, the Audit Committee,
after consultation with Friedman, determined that Friedman provides
the best chance of completing the Annual Report audit by the
extension date.
"We have been proactively updating the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the NYSE on the current status of
the Company's filings, as well as with our plans to change
auditors," said Mr. Henry Yu,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Steel. "We
look forward to moving past this filing delay and returning to a
regular reporting schedule."
Friedman will begin its audit of General Steel's Annual Report,
as well as complete its review of the Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q for the quarters ended June 30,
2011 and September 30, 2011.
Following the completion of these filings, General Steel will work
with Friedman to file its 2012 Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with
the SEC as soon as possible.
About Friedman LLP
Friedman LLP has been serving the accounting, tax and business
consulting needs of public and private companies since 1924. Its
industry-focused practice features concentrated areas of expertise
and understanding of the economic environment. Friedman has the
ability to be innovative in its approach, act quickly in its
decision-making and be flexible in its delivery of services.
Friedman's clients benefit from hands-on contact with the firm's
partners, cutting-edge technical expertise and Friedman's
understanding of their industry and their business. For more
information about Friedman, visit:
http://www.friedmanllp.com/home.php.
About General Steel Holdings, Inc.
General Steel Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: GSI), headquartered in
Beijing, China, operates a diverse
portfolio of Chinese steel companies. With 7 million metric tons of
crude steel production capacity under management, its subsidiaries
serve various industries and produce a variety of steel products
including rebar, high-speed wire and spiral-weld pipe. General
Steel Holdings, Inc. has steel operations in Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region and Tianjin municipality.
For more information, please visit www.gshi-steel.com.
To be added to the General Steel email list to receive Company
news, please send your request to generalsteel@tpg-ir.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's
current expectations or beliefs about future events and financial,
political and social trends and assumptions it has made based on
information currently available to it. The Company cannot assure
that any expectations, forecasts or assumptions made by management
in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate,
or that any projections will be realized. Actual results could
differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements as a result of inaccurate assumptions or a number of
risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are set
forth in the Company's filings under the Securities Act of 1933 and
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 under "Risk Factors" and
elsewhere, and include: (a) those risks and uncertainties related
to general economic conditions in China, including regulatory factors that may
affect such economic conditions; (b) whether the Company is able to
manage its planned growth efficiently and operate profitable
operations, including whether its management will be able to
identify, hire, train, retain, motivate and manage required
personnel or that management will be able to successfully manage
and exploit existing and potential market opportunities; (c)
whether the Company is able to generate sufficient revenues or
obtain financing to sustain and grow its operations; (d) whether
the Company is able to successfully fulfill our primary
requirements for cash; and (e) other risks, including those
disclosed in the Company's Form 10-K, filed with the SEC.
Forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of
the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any
obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking
statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or
otherwise.
Contact Us
In China:
Jenny Wang
General Steel Holdings, Inc.
Tel: +86-10-57757691
Email: jenny.wang@gshi-steel.com
In the US:
Joyce Sung
General Steel Holdings, Inc.
Tel: (347) 534-1435
Email: joyce.sung@gshi-steel.com
The Piacente Group, Inc.
Investor Relations
Brandi Floberg or Lee Roth
Tel: (212) 481-2050
Email: generalsteel@tpg-ir.com
SOURCE General Steel Holdings, Inc.