[3] The company was formed in 1994 and subsequently claimed that its principal businesses included the ownership and management of tree plantations and complementary manufacturing of downstream engineered-wood products.
Sino-Forest also held a majority interest in Omnicorp Limited, an investment holding company listed in Hong Kong (HK:0094) that in turn claimed to import wood fibre into China.
Sino-Forest's common shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TRE from 1995 until they were suspended in 2011, and its corporate office were in Mississauga, Canada.
Management further claimed that it expected to benefit from China's economic stimulus plan, which included further infrastructure development, rebuilding after Sichuan's 2008 earthquake and building of affordable housing for rural areas.
Sino-Forest Applied Research Centre for Pearl River Delta Environment (ARCPE) officially opened on 22 June 2009 at the Hong Kong Baptist University.
[11] Shares in Sino-Forest fell by 82% following publication of the Muddy Waters report,[12] with prominent investor John Paulson selling his entire stake in the company at a $720 million loss.
[14] On August 15, 2011, Sino-Forest announced that the results of the PwC probe into the allegations would be delayed to the end of the year due to difficulties in gathering data from the Chinese companies involved.
[15] On August 26, 2011, the Ontario Securities Commission suspended trading of the shares of Sino-Forest, stating that the company had engaged in practices they "knew or should have known" perpetuated a fraud.
[20] On March 29, 2012, one day before filing for bankruptcy protection, Sino-Forest sued Muddy Waters in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for defamation.