Li Ka-shing’s CK Group shuns link to AMTD Digital, whose meteoric rally in New York shines light on founder and ex-UBS banker
- Calvin Choi Chi-kin, who controls AMTD Digital, is appealing against a two-year ban in Hong Kong for breaches related to IPOs in 2014 and 2015, SFC documents show
- AMTD Digital shares surged to US$1,679 in New York this week, reviving the meme-stock craze and making it more valuable than China’s three biggest banks
“CK Group sold a majority of its shares in AMTD Group, which is the parent company of AMTD Digital, nearly ten years ago,” CK Hutchison said in a statement, adding that it has entered into negotiations to sell its residual 4 per cent stake. “The CK Group does not hold any shares in AMTD Digital and has no business dealings with the company.”
Currently, there is no representative sitting on the board of AMTD Group and CK Group is not involved in its operations and has no knowledge about any of its businesses or plans, it added in a separate stock exchange filing in Hong Kong.
The response, a day after AMTD Digital’s shares plunged 34.5 per cent to US$1,100 in New York overnight, came as a surprise, given that the investment history was well- documented in AMTD Digital’s initial public offering (IPO) prospectus ahead of its New York listing.
AMTD Digital is founded by Calvin Choi Chi-kin, a former UBS investment banker who is facing a two-year ban on several regulated activities in Hong Kong for breaking the city’s securities law, following complaints related to his work on several IPOs in 2014 and 2015, according to legal documents.
