Hong Kong partially axes bottled water deal with mainland firm amid police probe

Hong Kong authorities have partially terminated a new bottled water supply contract awarded to a mainland Chinese company for certain government offices and reported the matter to police.

The Government Logistics Department said on Saturday that it doubted Xin Ding Xin Trade Co Ltd would still be capable of fulfilling the 36-month contract, which it won just two months ago.

The agreement covered the supply of bottled drinking water to government offices on Hong Kong Island and some outlying islands, starting from the end of June.

It was one of the first contracts of its kind granted to a mainland firm, beating long-time supplier AS Watson Group, a subsidiary of Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings.

According to the department, the company was supposed to supply the XinLe brand of water to government offices on Hong Kong Island and parts of the outlying islands.

“Having received information on Xin Ding Xin Trade Co Ltd’s business operation recently, the department was not satisfied that Xin Ding Xin Trade Co Ltd would still be capable of performing the contract, and decided to partially terminate the said contract starting from [Saturday] in accordance with contract terms,” it said.