Wumart founder and chairman resigns

The founder and chairman of Wumart, the supermarket retailer that dominates in Beijing, has resigned, the <i>Financial Times</i> reported, citing a person familiar with the situation. Shares in the Hong Kong-listed company were suspended Monday ahead of the release of price-sensitive information but an official statement on the departure of Zhang Wenzhong, who started Wumart in 1994, has yet to emerge. The company also refused to comment on reports in the Hong Kong media that Zhang was being investigated by the authorities over Wumart's financial arrangements in its early days. Wumart, which has 567 hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores, has the highest margins among China's local supermarket chains and shares have risen more than 80% so far this year.