For a project built without approval, an environmental penalty of more than 20 million yuan was imposed on two different companies, both of which are closely related to the listed company Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) ( Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) , SZ).
“Our Bureau conducted an investigation on your company on August 22, 2021 and found that your company’s newly-built 6.78m tamping coking project with an annual output of 1.8 million tons did not submit the environmental impact assessment document for approval according to law, and started construction without authorization. There was an environmental violation of the construction project without approval” – this is the content shown in the document “jhfz [2021] No. 64” disclosed on March 23. Due to the illegal acts mentioned in the document, Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) controlling shareholder Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group or group) was fined 23.818 million yuan.
Shanxi Jinmei Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jinmei Chemical Co., Ltd.) was fined the same amount for the same illegal act. However, subsequently, the punishment of Meijin coal chemical was revoked.
In this regard, at the end of February this year, Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) said to the reporter of daily economic news through wechat that the punishment was revoked after the Jiaocheng branch of Luliang Ecological Environment Bureau conducted two more in-depth investigation and research at the end of last year. After active and in-depth communication and evidence collection between the two sides, it was finally revoked. Relevant personnel of the local Environmental Protection Bureau told reporters in the same period that the cancellation was due to the content of the document, and the specific reasons were inconvenient to be disclosed. However, the construction without approval is true, and the punishment will be issued again.
However, in the subsequent punishment documents, the object of punishment became Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group. Why has the punishment object changed? Who does the project belong to first? Has the investment and construction subject of Meijin coal chemical coking project changed? If so, why has it not been announced? In this regard, on May 18, Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) told reporters through wechat that the situation of the group’s new projects is not clear at present, and there is no situation that listed companies should disclose without disclosure. Please pay attention to the follow-up news of Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) official platform for the progress of relevant projects.
Huge ticket change penalty object
At the beginning of February this year, the daily economic news reported that Meijin coal chemical, a Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) subsidiary, was fined 23.818 million yuan by Jiaocheng branch of Luliang ecological environment bureau because it was found in the investigation on August 22, 2021 that the new 6.78-meter tamping coking project with an annual output of 1.8 million tons did not submit the environmental impact assessment documents for approval according to law and started construction without authorization. There was an environmental violation of the construction project without approval. Punishment Document No.: jhfz [2021] No. 33.
After the release of the report, Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) told reporters through wechat on February 28 that the punishment had been revoked. At that time, the reporter called the local environmental protection department for confirmation, and the reply was that the punishment previously issued was revoked due to the problem of document content, but the illegal situation of construction without approval was true, and the punishment will be issued again, and the punishment content will not change greatly.
Recently, the reporter found the re issued punishment in the appendix of the announcement of the decision of Jiaocheng branch of Luliang Ecological Environment Bureau on administrative punishment from October to December 2021 published on the website of Jiaocheng County People’s government.
The punishment document number is jhfz [2021] No. 64, and the fine amount is also 23.818 million yuan. The illegal facts are as follows: on August 22, 2021, the company concerned was investigated. The new tamping coking project with an annual output of 1.8 million tons and 6.78 meters of the company concerned did not submit the environmental impact assessment documents for approval according to law, and started construction without authorization. There was an environmental violation that the construction project was not approved and built first. However, the penalty object of this ticket is no longer Meijin coal chemical industry, but Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) Group Co., Ltd., the controlling shareholder of the listed company.
On May 17, the reporter called the local environmental protection department again. In this regard, the power receiver said that the punishment object had indeed changed and the fine had been paid. However, the power receiver said that he was not clear about the specific situation of the reason for the change of the punishment object and the company to which the first construction project without approval belonged. He only said that “it all belongs to Meijin group, which is actually asking to pay the penalty amount of the fine”.
The reporter sent an interview letter to Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) via wechat and email for the case that the punishment object of the first construction project without approval changed from a subsidiary to the controlling shareholder of a listed company. On May 18, Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) replied through wechat that the situation of the group’s new projects is not clear at present, and there is no situation that listed companies should disclose without disclosure. Please pay attention to the follow-up news of Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) official platform for the progress of relevant projects.
Who is the main body of the 1.8 million ton coking project?
Although the objects of punishment are different, the two fines involved “the new 6.78m tamping coking project with an annual output of 1.8 million tons”. The reporter searched for information about Meijin coal chemical industry and Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group related to the above projects, and only found that Meijin coal chemical industry invested in the construction of coal chemical coking upgrading and transformation project last year.
Among them, Jiaocheng branch of Luliang Ecological Environment Bureau disclosed the first publicity on the environmental impact assessment of the “coking upgrading and transformation project of Shanxi Meijin Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.” in March 2021. The publicity mentioned that the construction unit of the project is Meijin Coal Chemical Co., Ltd., with an annual output of 1.8 million tons of total coke per year and a construction scale of 2 × 70 hole jndx3-6.78 carbonization chamber 6.78m high single heat tamping coke oven.
Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) announced in July 2021 that Meijin coal chemical, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, invested in the construction of coal chemical coking upgrading project (hereinafter referred to as the “project”), with a total investment of 1.613 billion yuan. The project includes the construction of production facilities and public and auxiliary facilities. The production facilities include coal preparation system, coke treatment system, coking facilities, dry quenching facilities and gas purification device. The coking facilities include 2 × 70 hole jndx3-6.78 carbonization chamber 6.78m high single heat tamping coke oven. It is worth noting that in the announcement of Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) on July 9, 2021, it is mentioned that the project still needs to go through the approval procedures of safety production and environmental assessment in accordance with the provisions of national laws and administrative regulations.
On April 18 this year, Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) again announced that Meijin coal chemical coke oven with a capacity of 1.8 million tons / year would be shut down and upgraded. The 2021 annual report released later by Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) mentioned that as of the date of issuance of the report, Meijin coal chemical coke oven had been shut down and upgraded.
As one of the main subsidiaries of Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) , Meijin Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. has a net profit of 162553 million yuan in 2021. Its coke oven shutdown and transformation plan has also attracted the attention of investors. Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) once replied to investors on interactive e-mail on May 13 this year that Meijin coal chemical has formulated a detailed upgrading plan and production plan after the upgrading and transformation. Sufficient preparations have been made in the early stage, and it is expected that it will take about 6 months to complete and put into operation.
However, the announcement did not mention whether the project has received the EIA approval. The reporter asked Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) for confirmation. The other party only said that there was no situation that listed companies should disclose without disclosure. Please pay attention to the follow-up news of Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) official platform for the progress of relevant projects.
On the other hand, with regard to the relationship between the controlling shareholder Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group and the “new 6.78m tamping coking project with an annual output of 1.8 million tons”, on May 19 and 20, the reporter tried to interview Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group through the contact information publicized by Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group in the national enterprise credit information publicity system, but as of the time of publication, the phone had not been answered, and the interview email had not received a reply. On May 18, the reporter also asked Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) about the punished project of its controlling shareholder. Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) replied on wechat that the situation of the group’s new project is not clear at present.
Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group was established in 2000. Its actual controllers include Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) chairman Yao Junliang and his family members. According to the recent announcement on convertible bonds disclosed by Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group, Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group is mainly engaged in steel trade business, not coke business, and there is no horizontal competition with the company.
In terms of environmental penalties, compared with Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) group, Meijin coal chemical has accumulated multiple environmental fines Shanxi Meijin Energy Co.Ltd(000723) 2021 annual report disclosed that Meijin coal chemical industry accumulated seven penalties in 2021, of which two fines reached 1 million yuan and 1143000 yuan respectively. Since the beginning of this year, although the ticket of more than 20 million yuan has been revoked, Meijin coal chemical has also accumulated two environmental penalties.
