VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/20/12 -- Yalian Steel Corporation (TSX VENTURE: YL) ("Yalian" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on February 17, 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia (the "Meeting").
The shareholders of the Company have resolved to elect five directors for the coming year, as follows: Xin Duo Yu, Joanne Yan, Jack Austin, Xia Xu and Mao Sun, with Ms. Xu and Mr. Sun being the two newly elected directors.
Mr. Sun is a Chartered Accountant with many years of experience in public practice. He is a partner of SunRonkai LLP and was an audit manager at a major international accounting firm where he worked from 2004 to 2008. Mr. Sun has worked with clients from various industries and has extensive knowledge of Canadian accounting standards and a strong understanding of Canadian corporate taxes. He graduated with a Master's degree from Columbia University in New York City and a Bachelor's degree from Nanjing University, China.
Ms. Xu has over ten years of experience working with China-based Canadian public companies, responsible for business planning, operations, corporate administration and management. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Xu spent several years at Hanfeng Evergreen Inc., a TSX listed company with operations in China, as its Chief Administrative Officer. Ms. Xu joined Yalian at its incorporation, as the Vice President, Operations since December 2008. She was named Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Company in May 2010.
Also approved at the Meeting was the re-appointment of KPMG LLP as auditor of the Company for the ensuing year. In accordance with TSX Venture Exchange policies, the Company's incentive stock option plan was approved and ratified for the ensuing year.
At a meeting of the board of directors held subsequent to the Meeting, Ms. Xu was re-appointed as Acting Chief Executive Officer of Yalian. As previously announced, Ms. Xu has assumed the additional roles of Acting Chief Financial Officer and Interim Corporate Secretary. The Company is also pleased to announce that Helen Lu has been appointed Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. She will replace Ms. Xu in both roles effective as of February 27, 2012.
Ms. Lu has many years of experience in both public practice and banking industry. She has been an audit manager of a big four accounting firm since 2008. Ms. Lu was the head of the internal control department of a leading global bank in China prior to her involvement in public practice. Ms. Lu is a Chartered Accountant, Certified Public Accountant (USA) and Chartered Financial Analyst. Ms. Lu has a MBA from the University of British Columbia.
Mr. Yu, Chairman of the board of directors stated, "We are very pleased to appoint Helen as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. We look forward to her coming aboard. I again thank Xia for her important roles in Yalian's management and her continuing leadership as Acting Chief Executive Officer."
Ms. Yan and Messrs. Austin and Sun were appointed members of the Audit Committee for the ensuing year, of which Mr. Sun is Chair. The board of directors also appointed Ms. Yan and Messrs. Austin (Chair) and Yu to the Compensation & Corporate Governance Committee.
Management would like to thank Mr. Ray Harris, the outgoing director and Chairman of the Audit Committee for his significant contributions and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.
About Yalian Steel Corporation
Yalian Steel Corporation is a British Columbia corporation focused on the production of high quality Longitudinally Submerged Arc Welded (LSAW) steel pipe to service Asia's rapidly growing energy transportation infrastructure market. The Company has recently completed construction of its initial manufacturing facility in city of Yangzhou, in the Jiangsu province of China. The Company's production line has a rated capacity of up to 200,000 metric tons per year, depending on product and mix specifications. The Yangzhou Yalian plant utilizes the JCOE (Jing, C-ing, O-ing, Expanding) process, an advanced method of LSAW pipe production that involves the bending and shaping of X-70 and higher grade steel.
For further company information please access our website: www.yaliansteel.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations. These forward-looking statements entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties about Yalian's business are more fully discussed in the Company's disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada. All amounts are stated in Canadian dollars unless noted otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Contacts:
Yalian Steel Corporation
Joanne Yan
Director
(604) 696-6388
www.yaliansteel.com