Convoy stymies second-largest shareholder’s bid for board seat, repelling boardroom coup as court verdict looms on fraud case
- Convoy’s lawyer stopped the meeting just 10 minutes after proceedings began and before any vote could be counted
- Fred Ma said he has the support of 51.2 per cent of the votes for him to become chairman of Convoy Global Holdings
![The "@Convoy" building which houses the headquarters of Convoy Global Holdings in Hong Kong in December 2017. Photo: Bloomberg](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/methode/2020/11/27/b0a9fa00-2fe8-11eb-be20-200ca6256645_image_hires_074713.jpeg?itok=WTkQ3YgM&v=1606434446)
A shareholders’ meeting at Convoy’s Wan Chai office was stopped 10 minutes after proceedings began and before votes could be counted, by a corporate lawyer who only provided his surname Lam.
The company allowed only 25 people to attend the meeting, citing Hong Kong’s social-distancing rule to prevent coronavirus infections. Convoy’s spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
The halt marked the second failure since 2017 by Convoy’s second-biggest shareholder Kwok Hui-kwan to nominate his representatives to replace current directors appointed by the largest shareholder: the family of Richard Tsai Ming-hsing of Taiwan’s Fubon Financial Holding.
![Frederick Ma Si-hang leaving the venue of Convoy Global Holdings’ shareholders meeting in Wan Chai on Thursday. Photo: Xiaomei Chen Frederick Ma Si-hang leaving the venue of Convoy Global Holdings’ shareholders meeting in Wan Chai on Thursday. Photo: Xiaomei Chen](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2020/11/27/540187c4-2fe7-11eb-be20-200ca6256645_972x_074713.jpeg)
“I am deeply disappointed and feel sad about Hong Kong’s corporate governance,” said former Hong Kong financial services minister Frederick Ma Si-hang, who represents Kwok’s bid to get on Convoy’s board.
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