CHANGJIANG Fertilizer Holdings said on Tuesday that staff costs amounting to some 5.2 million yuan (S$1.1 million) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, relate to staff costs across its three plants in China and Singapore-listed company

Changjiang Fertilizer said this in response to Singapore Exchange's (SGX) query on why the company incurred staff costs when business operations have ceased since FY2013/2014.

"Due to the ongoing negotiation with local governments, we are unable to terminate the labour contracts as the terms of compensation settlement with the workers are not concluded yet. As such, we continue to accrue for the salaries of the workers in the interim," the company said in a statement.

As to why Changjiang Fertilizer reported to have incurred general and administrative expenses of some 3.4 million yuan in Q1 2015 despite the shutdown of all of its plants since FY2013/2014, the company said the expenses comprised staff costs, work stoppage costs, directors' remuneration and currency exchange losses.

When asked to elaborate on selling and distribution expenses of some 35,000 yuan when it has no business operations and no sales, Changjiang Fertilizer said that the expenses in question refer to "staff costs".

SGX queried Changjiang Fertilizer on May 15, 2015, after the company released its first-quarter results on April 30, 2015.