TAIYUAN CITY, China, March 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Ltd. (OTC Markets "LPIH") ("Longwei" or the "Company"), an energy company engaged in the storage and distribution of finished petroleum products in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), announced that it has filed a complaint (the "Complaint") on March 19, 2013 in the United States District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania (the "Federal Court") against Defendants Geo Investing, LLC ("Geo") and Jon R. Carnes ("Carnes") (collectively, the "Geo-Carnes Enterprise"), and Seeking Alpha Ltd. ("Seeking Alpha"), (collectively, "Defendants").
Longwei alleges in the Complaint that on January 3, 2013, Defendants, acting in concert, authored and/or published an article on the Company (the "Geo Report"), which they knew contained numerous false and defamatory statements about Longwei's business operations to directly discredit the Company's business reputation and constituted libel per se.
Accordingly, as a direct result of the Defendants' commercial disparagement, unlawful conspiracy, fraudulent conduct, ongoing conspiracy, RICO violations through a pattern of racketeering activity and tortuous interference with business relations, among other claims described in the Complaint (the "Claims"), Longwei has suffered damages in an amount to be determined at trial including, but not limited to, the loss of approximately $242 million in market capitalization, the ceasing of its shares being traded on the NYSE MKT, litigation costs resulting from a potential securities class action against it, and other damages stemming from loss of various business relationships.
This is an action by Longwei, a public corporation, for defamation, fraud, and RICO violations, among other things alleged in the Claims, against the Defendants for damages caused by the Defendants' conspiracy to defame Longwei's business as part of their fraudulent short-selling scheme to severely decrease Longwei's stock price, while simultaneously "shorting" Longwei's stock, to reap massive illicit gains at the expense of Longwei and its shareholders.
A copy of the filed Complaint can be found on the Company website at the following link:
http://a.eqcdn.com/longweipetroleum/files/defamation_lawsuit.pdf
As previously stated, Longwei believes the Geo Report contains numerous errors of facts, misleading speculations and malicious interpretations of events. The Company and its legal counsel in the U.S. and the PRC, as well as its auditor have reviewed the allegations. Longwei has taken the steps to defend itself and protect shareholder value by addressing the allegations and filing the Claims in the Complaint seeking damages against the Defendants.
Additionally, Longwei was not notified by the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") until after market hours on Friday March 22, 2013 that the NYSE had filed an application on Form 25 with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to strike the Company's common stock from listing on the NYSE MKT. However, the Company's stock began trading on the OTC Markets on Friday, March 22, 2013 under the symbol "LPIH" although the NYSE released a press release on March 22, 2013 stating that the delisting will become effective on April 1, 2013 unless postponed by the SEC.
About Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Limited
Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Limited is an energy company engaged in the storage and distribution of finished petroleum products in the People's Republic of China. The Company's oil and gas operations consist of transporting, storing and selling finished petroleum products, entirely in the PRC. The Company's headquarters are located in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. The Company has a storage capacity for its products of 220,000 metric tons ("mt") located at three storage facilities within Shanxi: Taiyuan, Gujiao and Huajie, which have an individual storage capacity of approximately 50,000mt, 70,000mt, and 100,000mt, respectively. The Company has the necessary licenses to operate and sell petroleum products not only in Shanxi, but throughout the entire PRC. The Company's storage tanks have the largest storage capacity of any non-government operated entity in Shanxi.
The Company seeks to earn profits by selling its products at competitive prices with timely delivery to transportation companies, coal mining operations, power supply customers, large-scale gas stations and small, independent gas stations. The Company also earns revenue from agency fees by acting as a purchasing agent for other intermediaries in Shanxi, and through limited sales of diesel and gasoline at two retail gas stations, each located at the Company's Taiyuan and Gujiao facilities. The Company seeks to continue to expand its customer base and distribution platform through the utilization of its large storage capacity, which allows the Company the flexibility to take advantage of pricing, supply and demand fluctuations in the marketplace.
Longwei was recently named to the Forbes list of "Asia's 200 Best Under a Billion" from a universe of 15,000 companies. Forbes ranked the companies based on sales growth, earnings growth and return on equity in the past 12 months and over three years. As was reported, Longwei's three-year track record is 45% sales growth, 28% earnings per share growth and 28% return on equity. The Forbes article can be found at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/2012/07/25/asias-200-best-under-a-billion.
For further information on Longwei, please visit http://www.longweipetroleum.com. You may register to receive the Company's future press releases on the website under 'Email Alert.'
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about Longwei's industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Because such statements involve risks and uncertainties, the actual results and performance of the Company may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Longwei's operations are conducted in the PRC and, accordingly, are subject to special considerations and significant risks not typically associated with companies in North America and Western Europe. These include risks associated with, among others, the political, economic and legal environment and foreign currency exchange. The Company's results may be adversely affected by changes in the political and social conditions in the PRC and by changes in governmental policies with respect to laws and regulations, anti-inflationary measures, currency conversion, remittances abroad, and rates and methods of taxation. Other potential risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the ability to procure, properly price, retain and successfully complete projects, and changes in products and competition. Unless otherwise required by law, the Company also disclaims any obligation to update its view of any such risks or uncertainties or to announce publicly the result of any revisions to the forward-looking statements made here. Readers should review carefully reports or documents the Company files periodically with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
At the Company:
Michael Toups, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: U.S. Office +1-727-641-1357
Email: mtoups@longweipetroleum.com
Web: http://www.longweipetroleum.com
