ASIC has lost patience with Chinese bottled water purveyor Tianmei Beverage Group, applying to the Federal Court to appoint provisional liquidators after the company failed to fulfil a range of Australian corporate requirements.

The move comes after a creditor, former auditor BDO East Coast Partnership, applied last week to have Tianmei wound up for non-payment of $43,874.65.

The corporate regulator, however, has different reasons.

ASIC’s move to appoint a liquidator is due to Tianmei failing to lodge an audited 2017 annual report and not having a company secretary since August 10 this year.

Further, the company does not have at least two directors who live in Australia, the corporate regulator said in a statement.

After multiple resignations that began at the start of this year, Tianmei has been working with just two directors since the start of November.

Today, Jaylin Mao announced her resignation, leaving the company with just one director.

ASIC went on to say Tianmei had “failed to address certain significant concerns raised by two separate auditors in relation to Tianmei’s financial records and transactions the company has entered into”.

It “failed to provide adequate explanations in relation to irregularities identified with bank account confirmations; and fails to hold regular board meetings.”

ASIC is asking the Federal Court to appoint Adam Nikitins and Marcus Ayres from EY as provisional liquidators, and for them to provide “an opinion as to solvency and identification of any suspected breaches of the Corporations Act so the court can consider at a later date whether it ought to make orders to wind up the company”.

Tianmei listed in 2016 with a $10m IPO.

Its stock has been suspended from trading since March this year when a shareholder demanded they change auditors, and they subsequently were never able to deliver an audited full year report.

Tianmei has been contacted for comment.

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