[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The stock price of a beverage company where the suspect involved in a police stabbing incident in Hong Kong works plummeted due to a boycott movement in China.
On the 5th, the stock price of Vita Soy, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, dropped sharply by 14.6% to 25.1 Hong Kong dollars immediately after the market opened. This is the largest single-day drop since its listing in 1994.
Earlier, on the night of the 1st, a male suspect who stabbed a police officer with a weapon in the middle of the bustling Causeway Bay area in Hong Kong and then committed self-harm, dying afterward, was revealed to be a purchasing department employee of Vita Soy, triggering the boycott movement in China.
Subsequently, the boycott accelerated further after an internal document written by Vita Soy expressing condolences to the suspect’s family was made public. As the incident spread, agencies representing Vita Soy’s advertising models also issued statements one after another, declaring contract terminations.
Since more than two-thirds of Vita Soy’s total sales come from mainland China, if the situation prolongs, the business is expected to suffer significant damage.
On the 3rd, Vita Soy issued a statement on Weibo acknowledging that the document was inappropriate and began efforts to manage the situation.
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