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Trading in Best Mart 360 shares resumes on Hong Kong Stock Exchange after CEO’s arrest


Trading in Best Mart 360 shares resumes on Hong Kong Stock Exchange after CEO’s arrest

Share trading in a major Hong Kong snack maker resumed on Monday despite news that its chief executive had been arrested on suspicion of bribery, leading to a brief suspension of trading.

Best Mart 360 Holdings Limited said in a statement on Sunday evening that its CEO and managing director Hui Chi-kwan was arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on August 15 in connection with an alleged breach of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.

No charges have been brought against Hui, who has served as the group’s CEO since April 2015.

“Based on the information currently available to the board, we believe that the incident is not related to the group, the (arrest) will not have a material adverse impact on the group, and the group’s business and operations will continue as normal,” group chairman Li Guanpeng said in the statement.

Best Mart 360 was founded in 2013 by Lin Tsz-fung, Hui and Hui’s sister Hui Ngai-fan. The company operates a chain of retail stores selling food, beverages, household products and personal care items.

According to its latest financial results, the company currently operates a total of 167 stores, most of them in Hong Kong, several in Macau and one in mainland China.

Last year, China Merchants Hoi Tung Trading acquired 49 percent of the total issued shares. The food, transportation and raw materials company is 100 percent owned by China Trader Groupone of the largest and oldest state-owned conglomerates in the country.

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