BEST World International said on Thursday that the company and its founders - Dora Hoan and Doreen Tan - have on May 3 started defamation proceedings against Bonitas Research and its founder in the Singapore High Court. 

The move is in response to a 28-page report published by Bonitas in April questioning the authenticity and legality of the premium skincare firm' s profits.

In a regulatory filing posted at 1.42am, Best World said the report contains false and defamatory allegations &ldquo intended to undermine the reputations&rdquo of the group and its senior management, cause a loss of confidence in the group and inflict damage on the price of the company&rsquo s shares to &ldquo financially benefit Bonitas&rdquo .

It said Bonitas is a professional short seller and has openly stated in the report that it would profit from the decline in the company&rsquo s share price.

" The company strongly urges its shareholders and potential investors not to be deceived by the report, which has undermined confidence in the group and destroyed the value that the company has created for its shareholders over the years," Best World said.

 

 

Best World, in a separate announcement, requested for its trading halt called on April 24 to be lifted on Thursday morning. The company meant to lift the trading halt on May 6, but had got an extension ahead of its quarterly results release. 

Prior to the trading halt on April 24, Best World shares  were down 8.99 per cent  at S$1.62 on volume of 8.7 million shares as at 11.25am, following the Bonitas report.

Days after the report, the Singapore Exchange' s (SGX) regulatory arm ordered a review of Best World' s China business to address all matters raised by Bonitas. Separately, SGX also  granted a two-month  extension  until June 30, 2019 for the company to convene its annual general meeting.

On Wednesday night, Best World posted a  79 per cent jump in net profit  for the first quarter to S$10.3 million from S$5.8 million a year ago. The company attributed the performance to strong sales growth across most of the group' s markets, with  outperformance most pronounced in China from strong underlying demand for its DR' s Secret skincare line and the full adoption of its new franchise model.

 

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