Finance Watch -- WSJ
15 Dicembre 2016 - 9:02AM
Dow Jones News
DELOITTE
Dutch Affiliate Settles U.S. Case
Accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's affiliate in the
Netherlands has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a U.S. regulator's
allegations that it ran afoul of auditor-independence rules, making
it the third Deloitte member firm to face sanctions from the
regulator in recent days.
The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said Deloitte
Accountants BV, the international accounting network's member firm
in the Netherlands, violated independence rules because the wife of
the firm's then-chief executive, Piet Hein Meeter, was on the board
of a family trust that included investments in RBS Holdings NV and
Reed Elsevier NV when Deloitte was their auditor in 2011-2012.
The Netherlands firm didn't admit or deny any wrongdoing in
agreeing to the settlement. A Deloitte Netherlands spokeswoman said
the PCAOB's findings "related to facts dating from 2012 and
before," and since then the Deloitte Netherlands affiliate "has
made substantial improvements to its quality control system in
order to provide assurance that the firm is meeting all required
independence standards."
Mr. Meeter, who himself didn't face any allegations of
wrongdoing in the case, declined to comment. The Deloitte
Netherlands spokeswoman said Mr. Meeter "remains a partner of
Deloitte in a nonclient service role." He is Deloitte's global
leader of legal services.Deloitte's Netherlands affiliate is
legally separate from Deloitte's U.S. firm. Deloitte and other
major accounting firms are structured as international umbrella
networks with free-standing member firms in each country where they
do business.
Last week, Deloitte's Brazil and Mexico affiliates also settled
with the PCAOB over separate issues. Deloitte Brazil agreed to pay
$8 million over allegations that it issued false, deficient audit
reports and tried to cover it up. Deloitte Mexico agreed to pay
$750,000 over allegations that it hadn't taken the proper steps in
documenting its audits. Deloitte Brazil admitted it violated
quality-control standards and failed to cooperate with the PCAOB;
Deloitte Mexico didn't admit or deny wrongdoing.
--Michael Rapoport
SINOPEC
IPO Plans Revived for Gas-Station Unit
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. has revived plans for an
initial public offering of its gas-station and convenience-store
unit, according to people familiar with the matter, a deal that
could raise as much as $10 billion.
The state-run oil firm, also known as Sinopec, is in talks with
banks about launching a potential IPO of Sinopec Marketing Co. next
year, the people said.
A listing in Hong Kong is being considered, though a final
decision hasn't been made on the location of the IPO, some of the
people added.
A potential listing of the unit -- which is seen as a test case
in China's attempts to revamp its lumbering state-owned enterprises
-- is one of the options being discussed as part of a broader
restructuring, some of the people said.
Sinopec had originally planned to raise between $5 billion and
$10 billion through an IPO of the unit in 2015, The Wall Street
Journal reported at the time, though the process was delayed
following the retirement of Fu Chengyu, the firm's former
chairman.
A listing of the unit would raise funds that Sinopec could
invest in the stores attached to its gas stations, helping them
become more profitable.
A listing in Hong Kong also would bring in more foreign
investors that could press for better oversight and higher earnings
for the assets, helping Beijing with its broader goal of
overhauling bureaucratic, state-run companies.
Sinopec said in September 2014 that it had sold a nearly 30%
stake in Sinopec Marketing to 25 investors for 107.1 billion yuan
($15.52 billion). More than half of the investors were incorporated
in China, while the rest were incorporated offshore but related to
Chinese entities.
Sinopec retained a 70.01% stake in the unit following the
deal.
--Alec Macfarlane, P.R. Venkat
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 15, 2016 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
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