HONG KONG, August 24, 2007 – CHINA NATURAL RESOURCES, INC. (NASDAQ: CHNR), a company based in the People’s Republic of China, today announced that it had completed the sale of $35 million in common shares and warrants to several non-U.S. investors. The investors purchased a total of 2,187,500 units, each unit consisting of two common shares and one warrant to purchase one common share, for a purchase price of $16.00 per unit. The warrants are exercisable at $10.00 per share for three years commencing August 24, 2008.
Among the investors is Rosetta Stone Capital Limited, a company owned and managed by Mr. Andy Xie Guozhong. Mr. Xie is an independent economist and financial advisor. He was the former chief economist of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Asia. Mr. Xie was ranked as the number one economist in Asia between the years 2000 to 2005 by the Institutional Investors Magazine. He was also selected by CCTV, China’s largest national television network and the World Economic Forum in 2003 as one of the ten future economic leaders in China.
Mr. Xie commented, “Rosetta Stone Capital is very pleased to make this investment in China Natural Resources. China's industrialization and urbanization continue to drive strong demand for non-ferrous metals. We believe China's strong economic growth that underpins the global demand for non-ferrous metals will continue for the next two decades. China 's mining sector is quite fragmented. We believe China Natural Resources is in an excellent position to become a successful consolidator. We look forward to a long-term partnership with the company and will support the company in its future capital needs.”
Mr. Feilie Li, the Company’s Chairman and CEO, commented, “We are extremely delighted to have Rosetta Stone Capital and the other investors as our long term partners. The new funds will enable the Company to capture opportunities that will help further accelerate its goal to achieve a leadership position in the mining industry in China. The new funds will also empower the Company to continue its rapid growth while enhancing its capabilities to acquire new mining assets and complementary operations.”
The record holder of the 1,500,000 common shares in the Issuer is Rosetta Stone Capital Limited, which is 32.50%-owned by Mr. Guozhong Xie, 29.17%-owned by Keen View Investments Limited, 29.17%-owned by Sun Fortune Investments Limited, 5.83%-owned by Smartmind Investments Limited, and 3.33%-owned by Mr. Yuen Kin Lo. Mr. Guozhong Xie is the sole Director of Rosetta Stone Capital Limited. Ms. Pan Pan Hui is sole shareholder and Director of Keen View Investments Limited. Ms. Yi Mei Liu is a controlling shareholder and Director of Sun Fortune Investments Limited. Ms. Yunxiao Zhao is the sole shareholder and Director of Smartmind Investments Limited.
Feilie Li 李非列
President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
Mr. Li Feilie was appointed as a director, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board and President of CNRI on February 3, 2006 to replace Mr. Ching Lung Po following the consummation of the acquisition of FMH. Mr. Li has served as a director of FMH since September 2004. Mr. Li served as the Chairman of WFM from June 2002 to June 2004. Mr. Li has been the chairman of Shenzhen Feishang Industrial Development Co. Ltd., Wuhu Feishang Industry Development Co. Ltd. and Wuhu Port Co. Ltd., companies beneficially owned by him, since June 2000, December 2001 and October 2002, respectively.
He has also served as director of Pingxiang Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. since July 2003. From March 2002 to April 2004, Mr. Li served as the chairman of Fujian Dongbai (Group) Co. Ltd. Mr. Li graduated from the Economic Department of Peking University and was awarded a Master's degree from the Graduate School of Peking University.
