West China Cement faces downgrade review by Moody

Moody's has placed West China Cement Limited's (WCC) Ba3 corporate family and senior unsecured bond ratings under review for downgrade, reports the Hong Kong Standard. Earlier this month, US shortseller Glaucus Research slammed the firm for falsifying its publicly-filed financial statements with fictitious profit margins and over-paying for acquisitions.

The Shaanxi-based cement maker claimed it was selling its products at a premium price. But Glaucus, citing independent sources, said the selling price was three per cent below the average of Shaanxi, sparking a price war that led to losses at 40 per cent of the cement makers in the region.

The research house also accused West China Cement of overpaying when it bought three money-losing cement factories.