China Aircraft CEO resigns during vacation, can't be contacted

[HONG KONG] China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Ltd, Asia's only listed lessor, said Chief Executive Officer Poon Ho Man resigned during his vacation and the company has since failed to establish contact with him. The stock plunged.

Mr Poon went on annual leave from May 18 to June 26 and on June 17, the company received his letter resigning with immediate effect, the aircraft lessor said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange today. The board tried to contact Mr Poon since the receipt of the resignation letter, but hasn't been successful, the company said in the statement.

A call to the company board line, asking to be connected to the CEO's office, wasn't successful.

The board then named Chairman Chen Shuang as the CEO in addition to his current position, the company said. China Aircraft Leasing also said that Chief Financial Officer Yu Tai also resigned.

Shares of the company, which were halted from trading yesterday, plunged as much as 22 per cent in Hong Kong trading after the company issued the statement. It's the biggest intraday drop for the stock since listing in July 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

BLOOMBERG