Noble Group chairman says year has started off well for firm

[SINGAPORE] Noble Group Ltd chairman Richard Elman said the year had started off well for the commodities trader, which has been the subject of critical reports over its accounting policies.

"I can say comfortably that the year has started off much better for us than the last year," Mr Elman said at Noble's annual shareholders' meeting in Singapore on Friday, which Reuters attended. Noble has rejected the criticism about its accounting practices.

Mr Elman is Noble's biggest shareholder and owns about a fifth of the company's shares.

In February, Noble unexpectedly reported its first quarterly loss in three years due to asset write-downs.

REUTERS