Behind the scenes of "Stock Market Anti-Counterfeiting Hero"

2008-06-26 23:28

Since July 2007, a person with the pen name "Xia Cao" Published articles questioning the financial reports of several listed companies. In April this year, with the full release of the 2007 annual reports of listed companies, Xia Cao published on his "Financial Detective" blog "Top Ten Companies Suspected of Tax Evasion on the Small and Medium-sized Board of Shenzhen Stock Exchange" and "Top Ten Suspected Companies Suspected of Tax Evasion in the Shanghai Stock Exchange's 2007 Annual Report" Reports of whitewashed listed companies". The two major "revealing" rankings involve more than 20 companies suspected of financial fraud.

In an instant, it was like a hurricane broke out in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Fueled by the media, the incident escalated.

The response from high-level government officials is gradually escalating. According to internal information confirmed by reporters from various sources, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, who is in charge of finance, issued special instructions on this, and local securities regulatory bureaus conducted special inspections of the ten companies on the list at the request of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. At present, packaged documents containing the conclusions of the investigation reports of ten companies can be found on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s internal website.

Among them, Huaxia Jiantong, China National Energy Group, and Dongsheng Technology have sufficient evidence of fraud, and have announced that they are under investigation by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. As for the financial problems of Ordos and other companies that have had several fierce battles with Xiacao, there is still "no solid evidence".

In a low building of the Shanghai National Accounting Institute, the reporter met "Xia Cao" - a 36-year-old man with an anxious look, who spoke quickly and slightly disorganized, and had a strong southern Fujian accent. It was very difficult to get up. The pair of eyes behind the lenses always show uneasiness and tension.

During the interview, an imposing middle-aged man walked by. His expression suddenly became tense, and he greeted him with a respectful smile. "This is my leader, Teacher XX." - he explained to reporters.

"What Liu Shuwei was fighting was a drowned dog, and what I was fighting was a live tiger."

From "Feicao" and "Shencao" in 2001 to today's "Xiacao", Anyone who has been paying attention to finance for a long time knows that there is a mysterious connection between this "grass" name and public "financial revelations."

In the past 7 years, relying on the three tricks of "high cash and high debt, extending the analysis window, and extending the growth of taxes and fees payable" that he has explored, he has successively questioned more than 100 companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets. Financial issues of public companies. From 2004 to now, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has launched investigations into 125 listed companies, and he has personally exposed 25 of them. Counting Dongsheng Technology, which is about to announce the results of the filing, there are already 26 companies.

“I admire myself very much. Imagine that there are more than 600 professional people in an inspection bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and I did it entirely by one person, a small editor, in my spare time. "He knocked on the coffee table with his knuckles, making a thumping sound.

Since 2007, Xiacao has entered into the most frenzied round of crackdowns on financial fraud of listed companies.

"Since June 27 last year, I have questioned a company three or four times in a row. They approached my leader, the Information Office, the External Publicity Office, the Media and Broadcasting Office, etc. As soon as my manuscript came out, they When it was deleted, I went to another media to publish it.”

The chairman of Yili Technology, Wang Wenbiao, was in the limelight in 2007 and appeared on Xinwen Network three times in three months. He was elected as the Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and appeared on CCTV's Son of the East, News Room, Focus Interview and other programs.

"Sometimes, I really feel like I'm licking honey on a knife's edge." He was still frightened. He was just a little ant, and his opponent was an elephant, who could trample him to death at any time.

“The secretary of the board of directors of a certain company initially called me to ask for peace, explaining that maybe I didn’t understand the characteristics of their industry. I ignored him, and after their financial report came out, I continued writing. "The annual report exposed the major shareholder's lies, and 1 billion funds were misappropriated." As a result, they couldn't stand it anymore, so they held a special meeting to figure out how to treat me.

Three of their top executives: the vice president of finance, the chairman of the listed company, and the vice president and secretary to the board of directors flew to see me, as well as our leader. They said that because of my articles, they had been investigated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission twice in a row. , they were in agony, and the originally determined private placement was rejected. If the private placement is unsuccessful, their capital chain will be broken. ”

Under the three-legged effort of this intruder without any means, a long-standing interest chain surrounding listed companies has suffered an unprecedented impact. Because of the bundling of interests, the third party that was originally responsible for supervision The inaction of sponsors, accounting firms, law firms, and financial companies has made it possible and feasible for listed companies to commit fraud to a large extent.

Mentioning finance. At the end of 2001, the first person who came to mind was Liu Shuwei. After being shocked, he accidentally noticed the bizarre financial report of Lantian Shares and published a 600-word article in "Financial Internal Reference" titled "Loans to Lantian Shares Should Be Stopped Immediately." 》. Under the impact of several head-on battles and bank loan suspensions, the company's top executives were imprisoned. In 2002, Liu Shuwei was named one of China's top ten economic figures.

Xia Cao was both envious and dissatisfied with Liu Shuwei's social reputation and status. "The fraud of Lantian Shares was already known to everyone. Liu Shuwei's article was the last straw that broke the camel's back. ”

“We who do financial research will emphasize who is the first doubter. Lan Tian was already a lost dog, but what I was fighting was a real live tiger. The risk is much greater than hers. ”

I actually want to be recruited

In 2002, Xia Cao, who was teaching at a local university in Fujian, came to the university on the recommendation of a leader Shanghai National Accounting Institute. “As soon as I entered, I knew that I was not suitable to stay in this school. This is a high-level school that faces high-end financial professionals. I am a minor master's degree student from a third-rate university, and I come from a very bad background. "He has no confidence and no sense of security regarding his image and expressive ability on stage, especially his poor Mandarin.

It is difficult to find a job outside, and the salary of the National Accounting Institute is good, Xia Cao Cao's only wish was to take root in this school. However, he found that he had almost no classes to attend. From the end of 2006 to the beginning of 2008, he did not attend a single class. I became an idle employee and worked as an editor for the school’s internal industry publication. “I also dreamed of returning to the teaching and research department as a teacher. "

What Xia Cao never forgets is the tuition fee of at least 3,000 yuan a day at the National Accounting Institute. "If the teacher goes to class outside, it will cost at least 5,000 yuan a day." I never dream of returning to the podium. "

The school implements a last-place elimination system. At the end of each year, there are always some people coming and going; at this time, Xia Cao feels extremely painful. He still has the last straw to save his life. ——Continuing the long-interrupted crackdown on public financial fraud of listed companies. “With my image and eloquence, it is impossible to have the opportunity to speak on the stage without some special expertise. Only by doing this can I return to the podium. ”

In April this year, a company executive whom he questioned actually came to “visit”. This inspired Xia Cao’s fighting spirit. A few days later, a financial reporter asked Xia Cao to help review Yuyue Medical. After noticing something suspicious in the company's financial report, he wrote two articles in a row accusing the company of financial fraud. When all listed companies released their 2007 annual reports, Xia Cao began a "crazy" crackdown on fraud.

The situation is indeed changing in the direction he hoped for. The college started to arrange classes for him in April. “I have a lot of classes now. I even took some high-end courses for chief accountants. "He felt lucky to be reborn.

"A month ago, I discussed with my wife whether we should pack up and go back to my hometown to find a job. I feel very reluctant, after all, I managed to squeeze into Shanghai with great difficulty, my child also has a Shanghai household registration, and has paid social security for so many years. I'm a very pragmatic person.

"

In an article reporting on Xia Cao, a reporter praised him for "defending the interests of small and medium-sized investors." Xia Cao later called the reporter and said: "When did I say that I Are you speaking for small and medium investors? I can't even protect myself. ”

He laughed at himself as a shameless thing to expose financial scandals. “If I could be a steady teacher, I would never directly challenge those listed companies. ”

“I actually really want to be recruited, but I really don’t have a chance. "Xia Cao said.

A man born in the year of rat

2008 is Xia Cao's birth year, and he is a rat. According to him, he is as timid as a rat.

Seven or eight years ago, Xia Cao, who was still an accounting student, went to the media for the first time and published a post-mortem analysis of financial fraud in listed companies. Later, he tried to post a post-mortem analysis. , Dahuhu, wrote an article questioning the financial fraud of Tonghua Jinma under the pseudonym "Feicao" "The deputy mayor of Tonghua City called me at that time and said that he wanted to meet with me, it was up to me whether it was Beijing, Fuzhou or Shanghai. choose. Later, he called me again and said that I didn't understand the financial issue and asked our financial director to explain it to you. The financial director seemed drunk and said that you had suppressed our stock price. Our shareholders did not agree. I will ask two policemen to arrest you tomorrow morning. ”

By some mistake, Xia Cao obtained conclusive evidence of financial fraud such as the other party’s false VAT invoices. Later, Tonghua Jinma was publicly condemned by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for “lack of timely disclosure of related transaction information.” , the matter ends here.

Xia Cao knows how much risk he faces, “I walk on thin ice every day. Externally, he never uses his real name. "If one day I am sent to hell, I can change my vest and still survive." "

After the release of his "expose" rankings, Ordos and Jiangsu Sunshine had tough attitudes. Jiangsu Sunshine once threatened to take the media to court. "In the past, I suspected that 20 of their funds were unaccounted for. , now mainly doubt their polysilicon concept. Jiangsu Sunshine promised Ningxia that polysilicon would be produced on time. "Now, we are all silent, just waiting for September 23. Once the product is produced, I will face a huge psychological blow", to be precise, this refers to the threat of lawsuit.

In addition, Xia Cao admitted that there was little evidence for the initial accusation of Ordos misappropriating 5 billion funds. It was not until a year later that he thought he had found a "hole."

Pu Shaoping, the analyst who unveiled the "Yin Guangxia shady story" with "Nine Questions about Yin Guang Xia", is one of the role models who became popular in Xia Cao. However, in 2002, he published an article in Caijing magazine questioning Century Star Source's fraudulent financial reports, and was sued by the other party. He lost the case and was compensated 300,000 yuan. Today, Pu Shaoping's whereabouts are unknown.

He felt it was time to change his strategy. "One is to avoid stalking, and the other is to try to avoid 100% doubts and leave a little way out for myself. I am already famous enough, so I don't need to use 100% of my strength." He revealed that he has more on hand. The evidence of financial fraud of three "lethal" listed companies shows that "the more serious ones are private enterprises."

Ye Tan, a financial commentator who is familiar with Xia Cao, believes that Xia Cao is actually still Strategically, "I don't touch on institutional things, I just point out the financial fraud of some small and medium-sized private listed companies. Therefore, I won't touch the nerves of high-level government officials." In China's securities market, which has just completed the share reform, the management emphasizes standards and transparency. At this juncture, Xia Cao seized a good opportunity that might change his personal destiny.

“Some people asked me why I didn’t look for blue chip stocks. One netizen even told me that if you can get PetroChina out, I will marry you. My method can only deal with small fish and shrimps. , cannot deal with such a behemoth. Misappropriation of funds in private enterprises is a common phenomenon, and one can be caught accurately. "" Sometimes I am really scared, fearing that if I encounter someone with more serious fraud, I will push the other party to a dead end, which is equivalent to driving myself to a dead end - As long as the other party is still alive, he is strong enough to bite me to death. I don't dare to send people to prison. I am afraid that one day the other party will come out to retaliate against me.

"If you come out to fool around, you will have to pay it back sooner or later." "This is what he always talks about, "The police in "Infernal Affairs" represent justice, but their fate is the same as that of gangsters. ”

A more “noble” goal?

The job that has troubled him for a long time seems to be no longer a problem. Many financial media have invited him to join, or offered to take over all his Financial anti-counterfeiting article. There were also private equity funds who were willing to take Xia Cao as a financial consultant with an annual salary of 200,000 yuan.

He had little interest in this.

“What I want to do most is a career. The way to become an independent director is to completely whitewash yourself and strive to be a noble person - many listed companies will invite some celebrities to be independent directors. Then my professional income will increase. "

When he mentioned the word "noble", he smiled innocently. He also has a "greater" goal. "After the legal procedural obstacles are lifted, I want to work with the law firm Cooperate, I will dig mines, and then represent shareholders in litigation, so that I can make a lot of money legally. "The market needs such people to exist, but if you rely solely on individual power to fight against interest groups, it will be difficult to last long." "Financial commentator Ye Tan positioned Xia Cao, who has been fighting financial fraud for a long time, as a "pathfinder." "Let's see if he can change from individual behavior to organized and institutional behavior, and even set up a financial rating company for the capital market. intermediaries. But now it seems that China does not yet have such soil. ”

However, Xia Cao still thinks that he is more “noble” than before, and feels that what he has done is “greater” than those professors and doctoral supervisors. “Many universities have invited me to give lectures, and professors, The doctoral supervisors all sat down to listen to my lectures, and the professors and financial managers recommended their students and subordinates to read my books. I am still very happy - someone is reading my article and reading my words. ”

“When I become an independent director one day, it will be ridiculous to think that I am still a little assistant teacher. Sometimes, I think about how ridiculous I am. I seem to be a financial expert on the outside, but I am just a teaching assistant and a handyman at school. At that time, there is no need to look at other people’s faces. "He began to have wild thoughts.

He felt that he was just a little ant and his opponent was an elephant.