Chef-turned-entrepreneur Wong Kwan has returned to the stock market by buying a controlling stake in Hong Kong-listed logistics firm China Merchants DiChain (Asia) for $80 million.
Mr Wong, who stepped down last summer as chairman of Pearl Oriental Enterprises, now Honesty Treasure International Holdings, agreed to subscribe to eight billion new shares and convertible notes giving him a 59.5 per cent stake in DiChain.
'The investment I made in the company will be for long-term purposes,' he said yesterday.
He believed DiChain was suffering temporarily financial problems and that the company had bright prospects amid strong demand for international logistics services.
The purchase price was one cent per share, a 65.9 per cent discount to the average closing price of 2.93 cents in the 10 days to February 20.