BEIJING, Aug. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sinoenergy Corporation
(Nasdaq: SNEN) ("Sinoenergy" or the "Company"), a manufacturer of compressed
natural gas (CNG) vehicle and gas station equipment and a designer, developer
and operator of retail CNG filling stations in the People's Republic of China,
today announced that it has signed a share exchange agreement with China New
Energy Development Investment Co., Ltd (China New Energy) to exchange part of
the ownership between the two party's jointly established companies, Hubei
Gather Energy Co., Ltd (Hubei Gather) located in Wuhan City and Anhui Gather
Energy Co., Ltd (Anhui Gather) located in Wuhu City.
Both Hubei Gather and Anhui Gather are joint venture companies between
Sinoenergy and China New Energy that engage in the construction and operation
of CNG mother stations. Prior to the share exchange, Sinoenergy, through its
fully owned subsidiary Sinoenergy Holding Limited, owned 55% and 45% of the
equity of Hubei Gather and Anhui Gather respectively; China New Energy owned
the remaining equity of Hubei Gather and Anhui Gather. Each joint venture has
obtained natural gas quota of 200 million cubic meters per year for 20 years
from Sinopec starting from 2007.
According to the share exchange agreement, Sinoenergy will transfer 25% of
its ownership of Anhui Gather to China New Energy. In return, China New
Energy will transfer 25% of its ownership of Wuhan Gather to Sinoenergy. The
transaction is expected to be completed by the end of August 2008 on non-cash
basis.
"We are pleased to reach this share exchange agreement with China New
Energy," commented Mr. Bo Huang, CEO of Sinoenergy. "Following the share
exchange, Sinoenergy will possess 80% ownership of Hubei Gather. The
increased ownership will enhance our control over Hubei Gather and further
guarantee the CNG supply to our rapid growing CNG filling stations in Wuhan
city."
"Currently, Hubei Gather CNG mother station is under construction and is
expected to be completed and begin operation in the third quarter of 2009.
The maximum daily CNG processing capacity is estimated to reach 600,000 cubic
meters. As the automobile CNG market in Wuhan is growing rapidly, we believe
our CNG mother station will soon reach its maximum operation capacity after
opening, which would result in annual revenue and operating income
contribution of about $65 million and $22 million, respectively," added Mr. Bo
Huang.
About Sinoenergy
Sinoenergy is a manufacturer of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle and
gas station equipment as well as a developer and operator of retail CNG
stations in China. In addition to its CNG related products, the Company
manufactures a wide variety of pressure containers for use in different
industries, including the design and manufacture of various types of pressure
containers used in the petroleum and chemical industries, the metallurgy and
electricity generation industries and the food and brewery industries.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this
announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to,
future changes in the wholesale and retail price for CNG for vehicles in China;
changes in policy by the national, provincial and municipal government of the
PRC regarding CNG prices, the CNG vehicle industry, the construction and
operation of retail CNG filling stations and related issues; the Company's
ability to raise additional capital to finance the Company's activities; the
effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of its products; the
future trading of the common stock of the Company; the ability of the Company
to operate as a public company; the period of time for which its current
liquidity will enable the Company to fund its operations; the Company's
ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business
conditions; the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial
condition; the Company's ability to attract or retain qualified senior
management personnel and research and development staff; and other risks
detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates
and projections about the companies and the industry. The Company undertakes
no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent
occurring events or circumstances, or to changes in its expectations, except
as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the
expectations expressed in these forward looking statements are reasonable,
they cannot assure you that their expectations will turn out to be correct,
and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the
anticipated results.
For more information, please contact:
Sinoenergy Corporation
Mr. Anlin Xiong, Secretary & Vice President
Tel: +86-10-8493-2965 x860
Email: anlinxiong@sinoenergycorporation.com
Web: http://www.sinoenergycorporation.com
CCG Investor Relations, Inc.
Mr. Crocker Coulson, President
Tel: +1-646-213-1915 (New York)
Email: crocker.coulson@ccgir.com
Web: http://www.ccgir.com
SOURCE Sinoenergy Corporation
