Trading of shares of a major Hong Kong snack company has resumed on Monday despite revelations that its chief executive officer had been arrested on suspicion of bribery, triggering a brief suspension of trading.
Best Mart 360 Holdings Limited said in a statement on Sunday night that its CEO and executive director Hui Chi-kwan had been arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on August 15 in connection with an alleged offence contravening the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
So far no charge has been laid against Hui, who has served as the group’s CEO since April 2015.
“Based on the information currently available to the board, we consider that the incident is not related to the group, the [arrest] has no material adverse impact to the group and the business and operations of the group remain normal,” group chairman Li Guanpeng said in the statement.
Best Mart 360 was founded by Lin Tsz-fung, Hui and Hui’s sister Hui Ngai-fan in 2013. It operates a chain of retail stores that sell food, beverages, household products and personal care items.
It now runs a total of 167 stores, with the majority in Hong Kong, several in Macau and one on the mainland, according to its latest fiscal results.