HONG KONG – The Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday halted the trading of Next Digital shares, days after authorities froze assets belonging to its founder Jimmy Lai.
Next Digital said in a filing that it requested the halt after authorities announced that it had frozen Lai’s assets Friday.
Next Digital publishes pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, and the company was founded by Lai, its controlling shareholder. The freeze comes as Lai and nine other pro-democracy activists appeared in court Monday, facing charges related to inciting others to take part in an unauthorized assembly in October 2019.
Lai is currently serving a 14-month prison sentence for his role in two separate unauthorized assemblies in 2019, during a period where massive