Artini falls after a public marital spat
Fashion jewellery firm shares drop nearly 6 per cent as chairman and wife fight it out
Shares in beleaguered fashion jewellery firm Artini China dropped almost 6 per cent yesterday after a public spat between the company's founding chairman and his wife triggered appeals for a suspension of trade in the stock.
After dipping to an intra-day low of 17.2 HK cents the shares clawed back some of their losses to close at 17.5 HK cents, down 5.91 per cent. The Hang Seng Index, by contrast, recorded its biggest gain in 10 months, at almost 600 points or 3.1 per cent higher.
The fall in the counter came after local Chinese-language newspapers reported that Artini's non-executive chairman, Tse Chiu-kwan, had written to the stock exchange to request a halt in trading of the company's shares and also to stop it from proceeding with its annual general meeting on Monday.
Artini issued an announcement last night saying its shares had not been suspended from trading and its annual general meeting would be held on Monday as scheduled.
Tse and his wife Yip Ying-kam co-founded Artini in 1992. The company makes and retails fashion jewellery, accessories, and gift items in Hong Kong and the mainland.
On July 29, Artini filed a notice with the exchange to declare that it had suspended its chairman after he failed to contact management for 10 days. Yip, who is vice-chairwoman and chief operating officer, took over management responsibility of the company.