VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – April 5, 2017) – Western Resources Corp. (TSX:WRX) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the first board of directors (the “Board”) meeting (“Meeting”) was held today at the Company’s Vancouver office. The Meeting confirmed the newly constituted Board, consisting of James Moore, Geoffrey Chang, Bill Xue, Xia Qinglong, Wang Yinping and Jennifer Fang as directors.
The Board unanimously elected James Moore as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Moore is a Senior Business Advisor at the top tier international law firm Dentons and a Public Policy Advisor at the global firm Edelman. He also serves as Chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia. James served as Canada’s Minister of Industry, Minister of Canadian Heritage & Official Languages, and Secretary of State for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Minister for the 2010 Olympics.
The Meeting approved the establishment and organizations of the Executive Committee, Compensation Committee, Audit Committee and Disclosure Policy Committee. Geoffrey Chang continues to serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee, while Wang Yinping, Jennifer Fang and Bill Xue as Chairman of the other committees, respectively.
The Meeting also approved senior management appointments, with Bill Xue as President and Chief Executive Officer, George Gao as Chief Operation Officer, Matthew Wood as Vice President, Project, Troy Nikolai as Chief Financial Officer, and Jerry Zhang as Corporate Secretary.
The Meeting approved financial budget and compensation-related plans, which include the consolidated financial budget for the period of April to September 2017, Five-Year Compensation Structure for staff, an Incentive Policy on Supplementary Profit Participation and the Stock Option Plan. Nine corporate governance policies were also approved at the Meeting, including the Rules of Procedure for the Board.
The Board has decided to set up Western Innovation Capital as a subsidiary. Also, the Company will be establishing a representative office in Beijing.
The Meeting also discussed and approved the Company’s development strategy. While the Company continues to actively advance Western Potash Corp.’s 146,000 tons of capacity starter potash plant, it will explore new investment and acquisition opportunities in sectors such as mining, energy resources, real estate and infrastructure as well as innovation related businesses. The Company will strive to serve as a “Gateway to Eastern Capital and Global Markets”, and will make the best use of its accomplished projects to date.
The Meeting confirmed the constitution of the board of directors for its now wholly-owned subsidiary – Western Potash Corp. Geoffrey Chang will serve as Chairman, and George Gao has been confirmed as a new director. Other existing directors, including Bill Xue, Xia Qinglong, Patrick Power and Zheng Mianping will continue on the board. Western Potash has passed a resolution to appoint new management including George Gao as Chief Executive Officer, Ma Zhimao as President, Matthew Wood as Senior Vice President to continue his responsibility for the Milestone Potash Project. The Meeting also decided to relocate Western Potash Corp.’s head office from Vancouver to Regina.
Western Resources’ Chairman James Moore comments, “I am pleased to not only join the board of Western Resources, but to serve as board chair. It was 10 years ago that Western Potash Corp. was incorporated and we are broadening our mandate to pursue even greater successes in the years ahead. Western Potash owns a world-class and successful potash project, and our new opportunities and investments will take this firm to new heights. Today is also the first day of Western Resources Corp. commencing trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, I am so honored to serve as Chairman of the Board. I am very confident in the future of the Company and I look forward to working together with the Board and management to build the Company, making it a ‘Gateway to Eastern Capital and Global Markets’.”
For more information on Western Resources Corp., please visit the Company’s website at: www.westernresources.com
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
James Moore
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “expected”, “intend”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “plan”, “should”, “believe” and similar expressions (including negative variations), or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that is set out herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Jerry Zhang
Corporate Secretary
604-689-9378
www.westernresources.com