The board of Next Digital Ltd. agreed to suspend operations of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, local media reported on Monday, after police in Hong Kong arrested top editors and froze its bank accounts last week.
The company will meet again on Friday to decide on the date to stop publishing the flagship newspaper of media tycoon Jimmy Lai, Sing Tao Daily and others reported.
Hong Kong national security officials are blocking the newspaper’s bank accounts, and it may need to close its print and digital operations unless authorities allow access to the funds, Mark Simon, a top adviser to Lai, said earlier on Monday. Companies that regularly do business with the newspaper tried to deposit money in its accounts on Friday but were prevented from doing so, he said.