"Abit Computer will be downgraded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) to requiring full delivery, starting tomorrow, due to its questionable financial reports over the past three years, the TSE said yesterday.

Over 70% of Abit’s total import and export business in the first half of this year were conducted through seven Hong Kong-based companies, all of which were located at the same address, with a registered capital of just HK$2 each, the TSE said. In addition, a total NT$4.1 billion-worth of Abit’s import and export transactions in the January-June period was conducted without shipping documents, the TSE added.

The TSE also suspects that management at Abit might have embezzled company funds through the issuance of a euro convertible bond (ECB). According to the TSE, Abit invested US$40 million in an offshore company with a book value of only US$3.3 million. The owner of that offshore company then bought a portion of the US$75 million ECB issued by Abit last year."