Ultrasonic share price plummets as CEO goes missing with cash

Two of the most senior figures in a Chinese footwear firm have vanished, along with most of the company’s cash funds.

 

Chief executive officer (CEO) and chief operating officer (COO) of Ultrasonic AG have been missing “since the weekend”, while the company’s cash has been transferred out of China and Hong Kong and beyond the company’s range of influence.

 

Ultrasonic AG is listed in Germany, where shares have unsurprisingly plummeted 71.6 per cent on the news.

 

Chief financial officer Chi Kwong Clifford Chan said that CEO Qingyong Wu and COO Minghong Wu are “not traceable”, but said Ultrasonic’s German holding company has a “relevant six-figure amount” that will enable it to meet its payment obligations as normal.

 

Last Friday Minghong Wu announced he would be taking a six-month leave of absence for health reasons and Qingyong Wu was assigned his operational duties.

 

A statement on the company’s website read:

 

 

Ultrasonic manufacture “premium urban footwear” that is “specifically designed to the needs and taste of the growing urban middleclass”.

 

In its half-year results, the firm reported a 1.4 per cent increase in sales to €74.8m.