Orient Paper Inc., a produce and distributor of diversified paper products in North China, this week announced that it will temporarily suspend all of its production lines due to mandated restriction/suspension of natural gas supply (the "Restriction") for all natural gas consumption industries, including the paper manufacturing industry, to secure adequate natural gas to household uses in urban and rural areas in Hebei Province. 

 

The Restriction is in accordance with the second highest alert over supply shock of natural gas (the "Orange Alert"), which has been in place since Nov. 27, 2017. Multiple cities in the province, including Baoding and Xingtai where the company's facilities located have successively issued notices about the restriction of natural gas supply to their industrial users. 

 

The suspension is expected to last into February 2018, when the company expects the Restriction to be eased. The company is going to implement equipment maintenance during the temporary suspension of production. The temporary suspension of production will impact the company's current offset printing paper and tissue paper and corrugating medium paper operations. 

 

Using recycled paper as its primary raw material (with the exception of tissue paper products), Orient Paper produces and distributes three categories of paper products--corrugating medium paper, offset printing paper, and tissue paper products.

With production based in Baoding and Xingtai in North China's Hebei Province, Orient Paper is located strategically close to the Beijing and Tianjin region, home to a growing base of industrial and manufacturing activities and one of the largest markets for paper products consumption in the country.

 

Orient Paper's production facilities are controlled and operated by its wholly owned subsidiary Shengde Holdings Inc., which in turn controls and operates Baoding Shengde Paper Co. and Hebei Baoding Orient Paper Milling Co.

 

Founded in 1996, Orient Paper has been listed on the NYSE MKT under the ticker symbol "ONP" since December 2009. More information about the company is available online.