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Richard Elman Reuters interview

Publié le 22 janvier 2016

Noble News
 
Noble Group's Elman sees future as smaller, nimble company
 
22 January 2016 Hong Kong
 

By Anshuman Daga and Denny Thomas

HONG KONG, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Noble Group, Asia's biggest commodities trader, expects to ride out the market downturn and recover from recent accounting-related allegations by turning into a nimble and asset-light company, its founder and chairman Richard Elman told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

Elman, 75, said he sees no further disruptions to the business from charges that Noble inflated its assets by billions of dollars by inaccurately representing the value of its contracts.

"We need to go back to being modest and cautious and economical," said Elman, who set up the Hong Kong-based group with $100,000 in 1986.

Noble was thrust into the spotlight a year ago when Iceberg Research published the first of three detailed reports on the company alleging it inflated its assets.

"Last year, we had to separate our business from rumour and gossip. We got attacked in a very low regulated environment," Elman said in his first media interview in three years.

Singapore-listed Noble rejected Iceberg's claims, and a board-appointed consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, found the company to have complied with international rules.

"We feel that it's behind us. There is no reason for us to have any further disruption in that sense," Elman told Reuters at his 18th floor office overlooking Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.

Elman, Noble's largest shareholder with more than 22 percent stake in the company, was relaxed as he gave a wide-ranging interview covering the slump in global commodity prices, the outlook for commodity merchants and last year's accounting allegations.

"We are bottoming in terms of the (commodities) cycle. I wouldn't rule out oil going down to $20-$25 a barrel, but I think it's not going to go down to $10," he said, adding oil prices were unlikely to stay at depressed levels for long.

Noble's plans to bring in new investors were taking time, Elman said.

"Most sectors are pretty bashed up at the moment, so new money is going to be very selective. People want to investigate the company and they want to understand the people, they want to learn about the business and...it does take time."

 
 
 

About Noble Group
Noble Group (SGX: N21) manages a portfolio of global supply chains covering a range of industrial and energy products, as well as having a 49% interest in Noble Agri, its agricultural partnership with COFCO. Operating from over 60 locations, Noble facilitates the marketing, processing, financing and transportation of essential raw materials. Sourcing bulk commodities from low cost regions such as South America, South Africa, Australia and Indonesia, the Group supplies high growth demand markets, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. We are ranked number 77 in the 2015 Fortune Global 500. For more information please visit www.thisisnoble.com.

For further details please contact:

Ms. Chelsea Phua
Bell Pottinger
Tel: +65 6333 3449
Email: CPhua@bellpottinger.com

Ms. Candice Adam
Argentus PR
Tel: +44 20 7397 2915
Email: candice.adam@argentuspr.com

Mr. Martin Debelle
Citadel-MAGNUS
Tel: +61 2 8234 0100
Email:mdebelle@citadelmagnus.com

 
 
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