HONG KONG - China LNG Group Ltd on Friday lost as much as a third of its market value as trading in its shares resumed for the first time since U.S.-based Glaucus Research described the firm was “a startup without any proprietary intellectual property”. By the midday trading break, China LNG shares were down 18.5 percent at HK$1.19, recovering from a day low of HK$0.99. But still heading for their steepest decline since July 8, when Hong Kong stocks suffered their biggest one-day drop since October 2008, dragged down by another tumble on mainland exchanges. “The company opines that the malicious and misleading allegations made in the Glaucus report are totally without merit and absolutely not supported by any evidence,” Chairman Kan Che Kin said in a statement late on Thursday. The report was the latest from an independent researcher questioning corporate practices. In February, Iceberg Research criticised accounting at Singapore-listed Noble Group sparking a stock selloff that wiped around $1 billion from the commodity trader’s value. In Hong Kong, Citron Research is facing legal action from the securities regulator which called a report about Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd misleading. China LNG requested trading of its shares suspended on July 14, when the stock was at HK$1.46, after Glaucus began research coverage with a strong sell recommendation. Glaucus, in a report, said China LNG had no meaningful operating business or tangible experience in the industry, and should be valued at or very close to its book value of HK$0.08 per share. China LNG is a property and securities investment group which recently diversified into liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses. In its statement late on Thursday, China LNG said the content of the report was incorrect and inappropriate. It said was seeking legal advice and reserved the right to take legal action against Glaucus. China LNG also said the claim that its senior management had no experience of the energy business was “completely misleading” as its strategy is to establish strategic cooperation with experienced market players. “No matter what any investor believes about China LNG’s future plans, potential relationships, or long-term chances, the simple fact remains that today, in its current form, the company’s operating business is tiny and insignificant,” Glaucus said in response to China LNG’s statement, in an email to Reuters on Friday. “If China LNG wants to be considered an energy company, it should be valued at or close to book value, like other energy companies,” Glaucus said.