BEIJING, April 15 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Fuwei Films (Holdings) Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: FFHL) ("Fuwei Films" or the "Company"), a manufacturer and distributor of high-quality BOPET plastic films located in China, today announced the dismissal of Hampden Kent Group LLC ("HKG")'s claims against the Company filed by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA")'s International Centre for Dispute Resolution ("the ICDR"), without prejudice to HKG's right to re-file these claims.
In December 2007, HKG filed a demand for arbitration with the ICDR, seeking a penalty fee against the Company in the amount of $3.8 million, relating to services allegedly performed by HKG in attempting to provide financing to the Company pursuant to an August 19, 2006 agreement between the parties. Pursuant to the agreement, any dispute between the parties was to be resolved by binding arbitration in accordance with the AAA's Commercial Arbitration Rules.
"We are glad the arbitration case is now behind us," said Mr. Xiaoan He, Chairman and CEO of Fuwei Films. "With the case dismissed, we can now devote more attention to our business and use our leadership position in the BOPET industry to accelerate R&D and gain more market share both domestically and overseas."
The arbitration was dismissed because of the nonpayment of the deposits due in accordance with the AAA. The Panel had previously ordered that the case would be terminated on February 6, 2009, if a full deposit of the arbitrators' fees was not received by that date. At the request of HKG, this deadline was twice extended. HKG's recent request for a further extension of time to remit the required fees was denied. The Company had paid all but a nominal amount of its portion of the deposits owed.
About Fuwei Films
Fuwei Films conducts its business through its wholly owned subsidiary Shandong Fuwei Films Co., Ltd. ("Shandong Fuwei"). Shandong Fuwei develops, manufactures and distributes high-quality plastic films using the biaxial oriented stretch technique, otherwise known as BOPET film (biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate). Fuwei Films' BOPET film is widely used to package food, medicine, cosmetics, tobacco and alcohol, as well as in the imaging, electronics, and magnetic products industries.
Safe Harbor
This press release contains information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks. Risk factors that could contribute to such differences include those matters more fully disclosed in the Company's reports filed with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Risk factors include, among other things, both the short and long term effects of the global financial crisis on the Company and the BOPET film industry, competition in the BOPET film industry; growth of, and risks inherent in, the BOPET film industry in China; uncertainty as to future profitability and our ability to obtain adequate financing for our planned capital expenditure requirements; uncertainty as to our ability to continuously develop new BOPET film products and keep up with changes in BOPET film technology; risks associated with possible defects and errors in our products; uncertainty as to our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; uncertainty as to our ability to attract and retain qualified executives and personnel; and uncertainty in acquiring raw materials on time and on acceptable terms, particularly in view of the volatility in the prices of petroleum products in recent years. The
forward-looking information provided herein represents the Company's estimates as of the date of the press release, and subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's estimates to change. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking information in the future. Therefore, this forward-looking information should not be relied upon as representing the Company's estimates of its future financial performance as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Actual results of our operations may differ materially from information contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors.
For further information, please contact:
In China:
Maggie Huang
Investor Relations Manager
Tel: +86-10-8518-5620
Email: fuweiIR@fuweifilms.com
In the U.S.:
Leslie Wolf-Creutzfeldt
Investor Relations
Grayling
Tel: +1-646-284-9472
Email: leslie.wolf-creutzfeldt@us.grayling.com
