Hong Kong Property: Sun Hung Kai Executive Arrested In Bribery Case

A senior Hong Kong property executive from Asia's largest developer has been arrested on bribery charges, his company reported Tuesday.

Thomas Chan, a senior project planning and land acquisition executive at Sun Hung Kai Properties, was arrested by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption Monday, the company said.

According to a company statement, the arrest has not affected and will not affect the day-to-day running of the firm, Reuters reported.

Just weeks ago, Sun Hung Kai was ranked first for best corporate governance in Hong Kong by the financial magazine Asiamoney, based on its excellent disclosure and transparency.

The company did not disclose how much money was involved in the bribery probe, but added it had set up a special commission to deal with the ICAC investigation.

Sun Hung Kai is the largest Asian property developer by market capitalization, and owns some of the region's highest-profile buildings, including Hong Kong's tallest building, the International Commerce Centre.

While the news will likely be negative for stock sentiment, we don't see much concern unless the allegations were to extend to the company and other senior management, John Chan, an analyst at Standard Chartered Plc, wrote in a report today, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Thomas Chan, 65, has been an executive director at the firm since 1987, and was paid HK$11 million ($1.4 million) in 2011, the Chronicle reported.

The company is controlled by Thomas and Raymond Kwok, whom Forbes World's Billionaires list rates as Hong Kong's third-richest family with a combined wealth of $18.3 billion.