Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co., Ltd (300999) told investors on Nov, 21 2025 that its subsidiary Yihai (Guangzhou) Oils & Grains Industries Co., Ltd will lodge an appeal against a first-instance judgment that found the unit guilty as an accomplice in contract fraud and ordered it to pay about 0.35 billion Singapore dollars in damages.

Company executives said the losses in question stemmed from alleged collusion between state-owned trader Anhui Huawen and Yunnan Huijia, asserting that Guangzhou Yihai was “the misled party” and neither profited from nor participated in the scheme.

Management outlined several grounds for appeal, including what it views as fundamental errors in fact-finding, misapplication of law, and procedural violations such as the withholding of key audit documents and the separation of trials from co-defendants.

The disputed transactions occurred between 2008 and 2014 and involved roughly 900,000 tonnes of palm oil that the company says had already been shipped out by mid-2014. Guangzhou Yihai also argued that its total storage capacity—about 160,000 tonnes—made it impossible to hold the 1 million-plus tonnes claimed by Anhui Huawen.

Chairman Kuok Khoon Hong stressed that the group, which has invested nearly 14 billion Singapore dollars in China, has “no reason” to jeopardize its reputation for a marginal gain. The company affirmed that, should the second-instance court uphold the ruling, it will pursue all available legal remedies, including a potential retrial petition.

Management said the first-instance ruling has not yet affected current financial results because the judgment is not in force during the appeal period.