8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 4, 2004


                           CATHAY MERCHANT GROUP, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

          Delaware                       0-9922                  04-2608713
(State or other jurisdiction          (Commission               (IRS Employer
     of incorporation)                File Number)           Identification No.)


           3604 Tower 1, Kerry Everbright City, 218 Tian Mu Road West,
                          Shanghai, P.R. China 200070
              (Address of principal executive offices and zip code)

      Registrant's Telephone Number, including area code: +86-21-6353-0012

                              EQUIDYNE CORPORATION
           1620 - 400 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6C 3A6
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)


Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

[  ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act
     (17 CFR 230.425)

[  ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act
     (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

[  ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[  ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))











ITEM 5.02 DEPARTURE OF DIRECTORS OR PRINCIPAL OFFICERS; ELECTION OF DIRECTORS;
          APPOINTMENT OF PRINCIPAL OFFICERS

On October 4, 2004, Lewis Cheung resigned as president, chief financial officer,
secretary and chairman of the board of directors of Cathay Merchant Group, Inc.
(the "Registrant") effective immediately. Mr. Cheung will remain a member of the
Registrant's board of directors. Also on October 4, 2004, Greg Elderkin resigned
as a member of the Registrant's board of directors effective immediately. There
were no disagreements with either Mr. Cheung or Mr. Elderkin.

On October 4, 2004, the Registrant's board of directors appointed Michael Smith
president, chief financial officer, secretary and chairman of the board of
directors of the Registrant. Mr. Smith, a member of the Registrant's board of
directors and its former chief executive officer, is the chief executive officer
of MFC Bancorp Ltd. ("MFC"). MFC beneficially holds 3,738,044 shares, or
approximately 18.4%, of the Registrant's common stock through a wholly owned
subsidiary.

The board of directors is searching for a qualified candidate to fill the
vacancy left by Mr. Elderkin's resignation.

ITEM 8.01 OTHER EVENTS.

On October 7, 2004, the Registrant issued a press release announcing that (i)
effective October 7, 2004, the Registrant's stock symbol on the American Stock
Exchange has changed from "IJX" to "CMQ" in conjunction with the Registrant's
recent name change and (ii) the Registrant has been issued a new CUSIP number. A
copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated
herein by reference.

On September 16, 2004, the Registrant's stockholders approved an amendment to
the Registrant's certificate of incorporation (the "Certificate of Amendment")
to (i) change the Registrant's name from Equidyne Corporation to Cathay Merchant
Group, Inc. and (ii) increase the number of authorized shares of common stock of
the Registrant from 35,000,000 to 100,000,000. The Certificate of Amendment was
filed with, and accepted by, the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on
October 6, 2004. A copy of the Certificate of Amendment is attached hereto as
Exhibit 3.1.9 and is incorporated herein by reference.

On September 16, 2004, the Registrant's stockholders also approved a proposal to
issue such number of shares of the Registrant's common stock to MFC as may be
required by the terms of a credit facility between the Registrant and MFC. No
shares have yet been issued to MFC in connection with this proposal and the
number of shares that would be issuable to MFC has not yet been determined.

ITEM 9.01 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.

(c)      Exhibits

3.1.9             Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation of
                  the Registrant, filed with the Secretary of State of the State
                  of Delaware on October 6, 2004.

99.1              Press Release dated October 7, 2004.







                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: October 7, 2004


                                                  CATHAY MERCHANT GROUP, INC.

                                                  By:     /s/ Michael Smith
                                                      --------------------------
                                                          Michael Smith
                                                          President







                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


3.1.9             Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation of
                  the Registrant, filed with the Secretary of State of the State
                  of Delaware on October 6, 2004.

99.1              Press Release dated October 7, 2004.

EX-3.1.9

                                                                  Exhibit 3.1.9

                            CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT
                                       OF
                          CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
                                       OF
                              EQUIDYNE CORPORATION


         EQUIDYNE CORPORATION, a corporation organized and existing under and by
virtue of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the
"Corporation"), DOES HEREBY CERTIFY:

                  FIRST: The Board of Directors of the Corporation duly adopted
         resolutions at a special meeting of the Board of Directors held in
         accordance with Section 141 of the General Corporation Law of the State
         of Delaware (the "DGCL"), setting forth proposed amendments (the
         "Amendments") to the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation,
         declaring the Amendments to be advisable and calling for submission of
         the Amendment to the stockholders of the Corporation pursuant to
         Section 242 of the DGCL, and stating that the Amendments would be
         effective only after approval thereof by the holders of a majority of
         the outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote
         thereon.

                  SECOND: The Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation is
         hereby amended by amending Article FIRST of the Certificate of
         Incorporation to read as follows:

                           "FIRST: The name of the corporation is Cathay
                  Merchant Group, Inc. (the "Corporation")."

                  THIRD: The Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation is
         hereby amended by amending the first sentence of Article FOURTH of the
         Certificate of Incorporation to read as follows:

                           "A. AUTHORIZED SHARES. The total number of shares of
                  stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is
                  One Hundred One Million (101,000,000), of which One Hundred
                  Million (100,000,000) shall be common stock, $0.10 par value
                  (the "Common Stock"), and One Million (1,000,000) shall be
                  preferred stock, $.01 par value (the "Preferred Stock")".

                  FOURTH: The Amendments have been duly adopted by the
         stockholders of the Corporation, at a special meeting of the
         stockholders of the Corporation held on September 16, 2004 in
         accordance with Section 211 of the DGCL.

                  FIFTH: The Amendments were duly adopted in accordance with the
         applicable provisions of Sections 242 and 141 of the DGCL.



         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Equidyne Corporation has caused this Certificate to
be signed by its President as of the 6th day of October, 2004.



                                            By: /s/ Michael Smith
                                                -------------------------------
                                            Name: Michael Smith
                                            Title: President

EX-99.1

                                                                  Exhibit 99.1


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        SOURCE: CATHAY MERCHANT GROUP, INC.


                 CATHAY MERCHANT GROUP TO TRADE UNDER NEW SYMBOL

SHANGHAI, CHINA (October 7, 2004) - Cathay Merchant Group, Inc., formerly
Equidyne Corporation (AMEX: IJX), announced today that it will now trade under
the new stock symbol "CMQ" in conjunction with its recent name change. The
change takes place beginning with today's trading. In addition, the company has
been issued a new CUSIP number from the CUSIP Service Bureau.

The company recently changed its name to Cathay Merchant Group, Inc. to better
identify itself and its primary business as a financial holding company
operating through its subsidiary, CMG Shanghai Ltd., an international merchant
banking company organized under the laws of the People's Republic of China. The
new name will not affect the rights of any stockholder or the validity or
transferability of stock certificates currently outstanding. Stockholders will
not be required to surrender or exchange their stock certificates that they
currently hold.

ABOUT CATHAY MERCHANT GROUP, INC.

Cathay Merchant Group, Inc. is a financial holding company whose business is
conducted primarily through its operating subsidiary, CMG Shanghai Ltd., a
company organized under the laws of the People's Republic of China ("CMG
Shanghai"). CMG Shanghai is an international merchant banking company engaged in
a broad spectrum of activities related to the integrated combination of banking,
trading, financing commercial trade and proprietary investing. CMG Shanghai's
merchant banking activities include providing specialized banking and corporate
finance services and advising clients on corporate strategy and structure,
including mergers and acquisitions and capital raising. These activities also
include proprietary trading in commodities and natural resources and proprietary
investing of CMG Shanghai's own capital in enterprises to realize long-term or
trading gains. CMG Shanghai acts for clients located in the People's Republic of
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other portions of the Asian market.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements which typically are
identified by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "expect,"
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "plan," their negatives and
similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed
differently. You should consider statements that contain these words carefully
because they describe the company's expectations, plans, strategies and goals
and the company's beliefs concerning future business conditions, results of
operations, financial position, and business outlook or state other
"forward-looking" information based on currently available information. The
company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to
reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or
to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

CATHAY MERCHANT GROUP, INC. CONTACT:
Michael Smith, Secretary
Phone: +86-21-6353-0012