HONG KONG: The head of Hong Kong conglomerate CITIC Pacific stepped down yesterday amid a scandal over bad currency bets that may have cost the company nearly $2 billion.

Chairman Larry Yung Chikin resigned after police raided the company's office on Friday as part of a fraud investigation related to its foreign currency contracts, the company said. Managing Director Henry Fan Hungling also quit.

"Mr Yung believed that his resignation would be in the best interests of the company," CITIC Pacific, a vast conglomerate whose dealings run from airlines to mining and Wal-Mart stores, said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.