STRONG PETRO announced the progress of the independent director committee investigation

According to the announcement from STRONG PETRO (00852), the company has established an independent director committee to investigate several incidents involving the company's directors and former management personnel. As of the date of this announcement, the independent director committee has appointed a forensic team from a certain Big Four accounting firm as investigators ("forensic investigators") and has engaged the law firm of Li Jia'en and Kuang Ning as legal advisors to assist the independent director committee in the investigation. To address concerns from stakeholders and safeguard the overall best interests of the company and its shareholders, the independent director committee has decided to focus the scope of the investigation on: (1) allegations made by former management personnel against Mr. Wang Jiansheng, Mr. Wang Peng, Ms. Guan Peishan, and Mr. Zhang He, including but not limited to suspected embezzlement of company assets, suspected non-compliance with and violation of the company's corporate governance and operational procedures, stock listing-related rules and regulations, and/or applicable civil and criminal laws; and (2) serious misconduct that former management personnel may have been involved in, including but not limited to the company's past investments and fund management, as well as the recently reported theft incident. Based on the anticipated workload of the investigation and depending on the progress of the Hong Kong police's investigation into the theft incident, if all stakeholders and relevant parties cooperate with the investigation, the independent director committee and the forensic investigators have informed the company that the investigation will be completed within two to three months. After the investigation is completed, the company will conduct its annual audit for the year ending December 31, 2024, which is expected to take about three months. In addition, after the investigation concludes, the company will consider whether to take further action based on the recommendations of the independent director committee, including but not limited to engaging professional consultants to further review the company's internal control systems and reporting any misconduct or violations (if any) to the appropriate authorities and regulatory bodies. At the request of the company, trading of the shares has been suspended on the Stock Exchange since 9:00 AM on December 31, 2024 (Tuesday) and will remain suspended until further notice. The company will timely announce the results of the investigation, the latest timetable for publishing the company's annual performance report for the year ending December 31, 2024, and the progress of resuming trading of the shares