Shares of New World Development, retail unit suspended from Hong Kong trading

Cheng, the third-generation scion at the helm of the conglomerate, will take on a non-executive role in the company, the sources said.

New World, controlled by the Cheng family – one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest – said Thursday it requested a trading halt “pending the release of announcements in relation to certain inside information of the company”. New World Department Store China (NWDS), a retail unit of the company focused on mainland China, made the same announcement.

New World shares closed 2.5 per cent higher at HK$8.19 on Wednesday; the benchmark Hang Send Index gained 0.7 per cent. NWDS fell 2.75 per cent to HK$0.248 a share.

New World is poised to report a loss of between HK$19 billion (US$2.44 billion) and HK$20 billion for the financial year ended June 30, the company’s largest since Cheng’s grandfather Cheng Yu-tung founded the company more than half a century ago, according to a profit warning issued last month.