Recent weeks have seen a struggle between two suitors seeking control of Asia Resource Minerals, an Indonesian coal company, and a debate over the soundness of the accounting practices at Noble Group, a Hong Kong-based, Singapore-listed trading company. The debate over Noble grew more intense after it reported a 30 per cent drop in operating income to $106m for the first quarter, and came after several research reports criticised its accounting.

While developments at the two companies are unrelated on the surface, they underscore the difficulties faced by Asian commodity producers and the trading companies that serve as the middlemen between them and their customers. At the heart of each story is uncertainty about the value and prospects of these kinds of companies after

the fall in commodities prices following the slowdown in China and other emerging markets.