Company secretary latest to step down at Huishan Dairy

Huishan Dairy has said its company secretary Michael Chou has resigned from the position in the latest departure by the beleaguered company’s senior management.

In a statement filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the troubled Chinese dairy company, which saw its shares plunge 90 per cent in March, said Mr Chou was stepping down as “he would like to focus on his other responsibilities within the Group primarily as the finance director of Friesland Huishan Dairy Ltd”.

A series of resignations by executive directors at Huishan Dairy has left the Liaoning-based dairy outfit with only two members – Yang Kai, its chairman, and his business partner Ge Kun who has been out of contact for more than a month. With just two members, one of which is missing, the board is short of the required three members needed to act on the company’s behalf.

Mr Chou was appointed company secretary in June 2013 after joining the company from the corporate finance department of KPMG, according to Huishan’s 2016 annual report. He resigned from the role on April 23.

Huishan Dairy said it will look for a suitable replacement. It has said the same regarding the vacancies left by members of its board, although it has acknowledged that “given recent events, [Mr Yang] may not be able to find suitable candidates soon.”