Luckin, China’s Starbucks Rival, Plunges on Accounting Probe (1)

Luckin Coffee Inc., the fast-growing Chinese coffee chain, plunged as much as 81% on Thursday after the company said its board is investigating reports that senior executives and employees fabricated transactions.

The company’s announcement that Chief Operating Officer Jian Liu and employees reporting to him engaged in misconduct casts doubt on the foundations of the Chinese coffee chain’s meteoric rise and its emergence as a key competitor to Starbucks Corp.

The chain is aiming to reach 10,000 locations by the end of 2021 -- a goal that may now be unattainable. Thursday’s share decline erased what had been a ...