Energy firm chief said to meet ICAC agents

Wong Kwan, the chef-turned-entrepreneur who is chairman and chief executive of listed energy company Pearl Oriental Oil, is in the spotlight again after having reportedly met local anti-graft agents.

The 65-year-old chairman, whose rags to riches story once included a fortune of HK$15 billion, has hit newspaper headlines from time to time since the 1980s, including making many record property purchases in the city.

Many Chinese-language press reports over the past two days have indicated that Wong was invited to have a coffee and a lengthy chat with the officials of the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Tuesday before he could return home.

The South China Morning Post yesterday called Wong's mobile phone but the call was forwarded to voice mail. The ICAC did not comment on the case.

Pearl Oriental Oil suspended trading on Tuesday "pending the release of an announcement from the company in relation to inside information". The company has issued no further statements and its shares remain suspended from trading. They last traded at 63 HK cents.

Wong, a mainlander, came to Hong Kong in the 1960s and first worked as a kitchen helper in small restaurants. But a talent for cooking pushed him up the ranks and within seven years he went on to become the master chef of several five-star hotels and deluxe restaurant chains.