HONG KONG

Giordano Holdings Chairman Resigns: Jimmy Lai has resigned his chairmanship of Giordano Holdings, one week after China closed the clothing retailer’s Beijing store, apparently in retribution for criticism of Chinese Premier Li Peng that Lai made in his popular Hong Kong weekly Next magazine. Lai resigned at his own will from the company he founded in 1981, said Jimmy Chan, Giordano executive director. The Chinese government did not pressure the company to force Lai out, Giordano Chief Executive Peter Lau said, nor did his board pressure Lai. Chinese authorities officially cited incomplete licensing arrangements in closing Giordano’s recently opened Beijing outlet, but the move was widely seen as retribution.