In the litany of accounting problems emerging at Chinese companies, Hong Kong-listed China Animal Healthcare has managed a first: losing five years of financial statements midway through a forensic audit ordered by regulators.

The animal drug manufacturer, which is 20 per cent owned by US pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly, said in a statement that the documents went missing when a truck that was transporting them to its head office in Beijing was stolen earlier this month while the driver was having lunch.

The Eli Lilly subsidiary that invested in CAH said it was “concerned” by developments following the suspension of trading in the company’s shares in March, and had “urged the board and company chairman since that time to take steps to properly resolve the situation”.