In a research report published on its website on Wednesday, Jehoshaphat Research, which claims to "operate anonymously," accused the company of inflating profit for over a decade by "manipulative accounting".

Techtronic said the short seller did not contact the company during its research process. Jehoshaphat says its research included phone conversations with "experts outside and (formerly) inside" the company.

Techtronic shares fell more than 19% on Thursday, before they were halted. The company said trading will resume on Friday.

Jehoshaphat, which holds short positions on Techtronic's securities, says the stock has a downside of 60% to 80%.

Short-seller reports have been responsible for steep drops in the shares of Hong Kong-listed retailer MINISO and EV maker NIO Inc. Most recently, a short-seller report spurred an over $100 billion rout in shares of India's Adani Group companies.

Jehoshaphat was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan and Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)