Numerous Singapore listcos report disrupted operations in China
Powermatic, Luxking among firms whose factories remain closed or whose operations have been curtailed
Annabeth Leow &
Fiona Lam
Singapore
A SLEW of Singapore-listed companies on Monday reported disruptions to their China operations from the mystery virus epidemic that has killed close to a thousand people there.
Manufacturers and retailers told shareholders in bourse filings that they have had to close factories and stores at the local authorities' behest.
Although mainboard-listed precision metal part maker InnoTek's Mansfield Group subsidiary resumed activities in Guangdong's Dongguan city on Monday, other factories remain shuttered - including in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, as well as in the economic hub of Suzhou.
Similarly, two of computer parts distributor Powermatic Data Systems' subsidiaries, which are based in a Suzhou industrial park, remain closed.
The board also flagged global travel curbs imposed on China, which have affected the logistics infrastructure that Powermatic taps to access materials and ship finished goods.
Bucking the trend, tape manufacturer Luxking Group Holdings has been given permission to re-open its factory in the town of Xiaolan, near the city of Zhongshan in Guangdong.
But it can field no more than 250 workers - compared with the usual 420-strong workforce - and not all its workers have been able to return to Zhongshan, given the travel curbs.
Otherwise, Luxking Group, which historically derives three-quarters of its revenue from Chinese customers, also noted that most of its customers and suppliers in China remain closed, with fewer new orders to be filled.
"There may be a negative impact on the group's performance for FY2020," the board warned, though it cannot assess the extent at this stage.
On the retail front, pure-play BHG Retail Real Estate Investment Trust has temporarily closed all stores, except for supermarkets and certain food and beverage outlets providing delivery services at two of its malls in Hefei, the capital and largest city of Anhui province in eastern China.
This is to comply with a Feb 6 notice from the Hefei authorities to contain the spread of the virus, the manager said on Friday night. The Reit's portfolio includes four other malls in China: in Dalian, Liaoning; in Xining, Qinghai; in Chengdu, Sichuan; and a 60 per cent stake in a mall in Beijing.
Meanwhile, Zhongmin Baihui Retail Group's stores, which were supposed to resume normal trading over the weekend, will continue on reduced hours until Wednesday.
Its Changsha Sasseur (Zhongmin Baihui) Outlets mall in Hunan province, which has been closed since Jan 26 but was supposed to re-open on Sunday, will stay shut until further notice, the board disclosed.
Separately, Catalist-listed Aoxin Q & M Dental Group said that all 17 of its dental centres in the province of Liaoning are closed until further notice, as the authorities there have suspended dental treatments.
Given the continued uncertainty of the coronavirus situation, "it is currently difficult to ascertain the financial impact it has on the financial performance of the group", it added.
