EQS-News / 24/05/2016 / 15:11 UTC+8
For Immediate Release
BaWang International (Group) Holding Limited
BaWang Wins Libel Lawsuit against Next Magazine
* * *
Reaffirmed Highest Product Safety and
Assured Compliance with Health Requirements
(23 May 2016, Hong Kong) Chinese herbal shampoo and personal care product brand owner BaWang International (Group)
Holding Limited ("BaWang" or the "Company", stock code: 1338) and its indirect subsidiary, Bawang (Guangzhou) Company
Limited, have won the libel lawsuit against Next Magazine Publishing Ltd ("Next Magazine") over an inaccurate and
defamatory report published by Next Magazine in July 2010 which questioned BaWang's product safety and accused it as
cancerous without proven scientific support.
In the judgment made by the Honourable Lok J of the Court of First Instance, Hong Kong on 23 May 2016, the Court
commented that "In short, the Defendant [being Next Magazine] had adopted a naïve and unprofessional approach in
reporting the story" and that Next Magazine's report in the article was "not a product of responsible journalism." The
Court rejected all the pleaded defences raised by Next Magazine in relation to BaWang's libel claim and found that the
defamatory article published by Next Magazine prevented readers from knowing that in fact, BaWang's "stance of BaWang
Shampoo Products being safe was supported by a scientific study conducted by a responsible team of scientists; published
by a responsible regulatory agency; endorsed by the government of a scientifically advanced country."
After five and a half years' lawsuit, BaWang and Bawang (Guangzhou) Company Limited were awarded general damages for
libel in the amount of HK$2,004,652.50 and HK$1,000,000, respectively. The High Court of Hong Kong also made a costs
order nisi that Next Magazine shall pay to Bawang and Bawang (Guangzhou) Company Limited 80% of the legal costs of
Bawang and Bawang (Guangzhou) Company Limited in respect of the lawsuit.
Mr. Chen Qiyuan, Chairman of BaWang said, "The verdict is an affirmation of BaWang's brand reputation and our high
product safety standards. Safeguarding personal health has always been at the core of BaWang. In our five and a half
year legal battle with Next Magazine, we have strengthened quality control in the course of production and made
additional investments in product research and development so as to provide further assurance to consumers since the
publication of the article. In fact, the Group's management system for production of hair care and skin care products
have respectively been certified to be in compliance with the guidelines on cosmetics good manufacturing practice (GMP)
separately laid down by the Centre for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition of the US Food & Drug Administration and the ISO
22716.2007. "
Mr. Chen Qiyuan also said, "We respect the press who abides by good practices, but we will not tolerate ungrounded
derogatory reports of any kind. We believe that winning this libel lawsuit will be a step towards reclaiming our
territory and strengthening consumer confidence in our products. Going forward, we will continue to offer safe and
effective personal care products to consumers."
During the hearing, the expert witnesses from both sides confirmed that using Bawang shampoos is safer than drinking
water that meets the safety threshold recommended by WHO (World Health Organization). Indeed, in the Court's Judgement,
the Judge stated that "One can also test the Defendant's suggested safety standard with the WHO's recommended safety
level of 1,4-dioxane in drinking water. Assuming that the Plaintiffs' shampoo (being the BaWang shampoo) is to contain
27 ppm of 1,4-dioxane (which was alleged by Next Magazine), using the Defendant's model to assess health risk, it is
still 3 times safer using the Plaintiffs' shampoo than drinking the WHO-recommended drinking water."
Additionally, the China's State Food & Drug Administration released a public circular at its official website
respectively on 16 July 2010 and 21 July 2010 stating that BaWang's anti-hair-loss shampoo is safe for consumer use as
the amount of dioxane is minimal and complies fully with international standards. Other evidences and testaments
presented at the court also point to the conclusion that the accusations made by Next Magazine were untrue and not based
on scientific findings.
- End -
About BaWang
BaWang International (Group) Holding Limited is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and marketing of
Chinese herbal shampoo and a range of personal care products. The Bawang brand has been awarded the Well-known Trademark
of China in 2007. According to the research results of Euromonitor International, the BaWang brand has been the leading
Chinese brand in terms of sales value in the Chinese herbal shampoo and anti-hair-loss shampoo market in the PRC between
2007 and 2013.
BaWang adopts a multi-brand strategy and operates diversified branded products including BaWang Shampoo, Royal Wind,
Herborn and Litao. Bawang's distribution network covers 27 provinces and four municipalities in the PRC. Additionally,
BaWang branded products are sold in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Issued by Cornerstones Communications Ltd. on behalf of BaWang. For further information, please contact:
Harriet Lau / Sharis Siu
T: (852) 2903 9290 / 2903 9282
E: bawang@cornerstonescom.com
Document: http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=LHJPHHWDBI
Document title: BaWang Wins Libel Lawsuit against Next Magazine
Key word(s): Statement
24/05/2016 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by EQS TodayIR - a company of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Media archive at www.todayir.com
466061 24/05/2016
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 24, 2016 03:12 ET (07:12 GMT)
