Hong Kong's Best Mart 360 to keep stores open despite attacks

Best Mart 360 Holdings

18/11/2019 13:33

By Clare Jim
    HONG KONG, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Best Mart 360's chairman said
on Monday he would keep every one of the popular Hong Kong snack
food chain's stores open, despite them being repeatedly damaged
during anti-government protests.  
    Lin Tsz Fung, whose Best Mart 360  2360.HK  was listed on
the Hong Kong exchange in January, said he was optimistic of
being able to limit the impact after talks with insurers about
damage to some 72 of the firm's 102 shops.
    "We have 700 staff and we're a listed company; it is unfair
to stakeholders if we don't open our shops. We hope to minimise
our losses," Lin told Reuters in his office.
    Five months of protests have plunged Hong Kong into its
biggest political crisis in decades and tipped the Asian
financial hub into recession. Meanwhile, Best Mart 360's share
price has fallen by around 50% since May.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2713AH
    Best Mart 360 said its stores have been hit a total of 183
times as increasingly violent protests target Chinese state
firms and businesses perceived to be pro-Beijing.
    "I'm a businessman. I don't understand a lot of politics,
and I don't want to participate in politics," Lin, 48, said.
    Lin, a private investor in industrial and commercial real
estate, said he will need more time to decide whether he will
continue buying in Hong Kong.
    He urged the Hong Kong government, which faces demands from
protesters for a probe into the actions of police, to set up an
independent inquiry to investigate the unrest.
    "Hong Kong is a democratic and inclusive society. It is
still definitely my home. I came to Hong Kong at the age of 17,
I've been here for over 3 decades. All of my life milestones
happened in Hong Kong," Lin said. 

 (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Alexander Smith)
 ((clare.jim@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2912 6653; Reuters
Messaging: clare.jim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))