Executive’s tongue-in-cheek pledge to commit hara-kiri if his lithium battery firm doesn’t hit market cap target draws warning from Shanghai Stock Exchange
- A manager at Nuode Investment posted on his personal WeChat account that he would commit the Japanese-style suicide should Nuode’s market value not increase to 50 billion yuan
- The watchdog blasted his ‘inappropriate’ comment and ordered the firm to train its managers to follow the regulations more thoroughly
Chen’s “inappropriate” comment reflected the company’s flaws when it came to information disclosure and corporate governance, the stock exchange said in a letter to Nuode. The company should provide more training on regulations for board members, supervisors and senior management staff to raise their awareness of compliance with the rules, it said.
Chen claims to have posted the message publicly by mistake. It was meant to be seen only by a small group of WeChat contacts, Nuode said in an exchange filing on Wednesday. The posting was quickly deleted after Chen spotted the mistake, it said.
The wording that was used was “not serious” but had “an adverse impact on the company,” said Nuode in the filing. “[The post] did not constitute an investment recommendation or represent the company’s view.”
Hara-kiri, also called seppuku in Japanese, is a form of ritual suicide by disembowelment that was practised by ancient samurai warriors who were defeated in wars.