Tintin and the Waste Vegetable Oil (CBI)

We must protect the secret formula!

I’m getting quite keen on China Biodiesel and trying to write a serious post about its operations and outlook. It’s taking a while, though, and in the meantime I was amused by this passage from its prospectus:

“The Directors believe that the most critical factor in the production process is the proprietary catalyst that is used by the Group. Due to confidentiality concerns, the Group has not, and does not intend to, apply for a patent in respect of the catalyst, as this would require disclosure of the ingredients, formulae and method of manufacture.”

“These details are currently known only to the Chairman and the Chief Technology Officer, Mr Luo, who is responsible for the manufacture of the catalysts, and reports any proposed changes to the Chairman in order to ensure that he is always aware of the current formulation of the catalyst.”

“The ingredients for the catalyst are ordered by the Chairman from several different chemical suppliers, in order to ensure that no single supplier is aware of all the ingredients required.”

Secret formulae? A henchman reporting only to the Chairman? Doesn’t this sound more like a Tintin book than the operations of a publicly listed company?

I’m sure the company is doing what it has to but this tells you all you need to know about intellectual property protection in China.

October 30, 2007 | Filed Under Companies

 

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One Response to “Tintin and the Waste Vegetable Oil (CBI)”

  1. The economics of China Biodiesel (CBI) : The Rogue Analyst on November 1st, 2007 5:39 pm

    […] - China Biodiesel has low labour costs and claims great things for its magic catalyst but I’m not inclined to put much faith in this. Having had a plant up and running since 2002 […]

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