The Ontario Securities Commission has extended a trading halt on troubled Chinese timberland company Sino-Forest (TSX:TRE) until April 16.
The order against the company, which has been accused of fraud, had been set to expire Wednesday.
The extension followed a hearing by the provincial regulator on Monday where the company agreed to the extension.
Shares in the Toronto-traded company plunged last year after allegations by short-seller Muddy Waters Research that Sino-Forest exaggerated its sales and assets.
The Muddy Waters allegations prompted the Ontario Securities Commission to launch its own investigation and later to refer the case to the RCMP for a criminal investigation.
Earlier this month, Sino-Forest reached an agreement with holders of a majority in principal amount of its senior notes due 2014 and its senior notes due 2017 to waive default despite the company’s failure to release its 2011 third-quarter financial results.
The waiver agreements contain restrictions on the company’s ability to sell its assets, limits on paying dividends, fee or other distributions to its shareholders or subsidiaries and restrictions on any additional indebtedness.
In November, Sino-Forest said an interim report from an independent committee disproved allegations the Chinese company was a fraud, but also raised issues about the challenges of verifying its timberland holdings in China amid the legal regime there.
Its stock, which traded for more than $14 before the allegations were made, subsequently fell as low as $1.29 but recovered to $4.81 before trading was halted.