Bronte Capital: “Hanergy barely existed”

Some very strange things have occurred at Hanergy Thin Film – the company owned by China’s (former) richest man, Li Hejun. 1) The stock crashed by more than 50% in less than one second. “Before its crash and indefinite trading suspension, Hanergy’s market value was higher than all other listed Chinese solar companies combined.” 2) Now it’s come to light that the owner, Li Hejun, was shorting the stock prior to, and at the time of the crash. 3) John Hempton, the Chief Investment Officer of Bronte Capital has revealed in a blog post (VIEW LINK) on the weekend that he visited the main factory of Hanergy six weeks ago to find it “idle” and “entirely silent” with no signs of production. Hempton concludes that “there was essentially no production of solar cells at all” so “the accounts that suggest significant production and sales are entirely fraudulent.” I think we can all guess how this ends… but the bigger question is, how many similar stories are lurking out there?