(Yicai Global) Feb. 15 -- Shares in Gome Retail Holdings simmered today after the Chinese retailer denied knowledge that its founder, once the richest man in China, was soon to be released from prison.

The Beijing-based firm's stock [HKG:0493] closed unchanged at HKD0.77 (10 US cents) today, after an intraday peak of HKD0.82 -- 22 percent higher than when it opened on Feb. 13.

Gome is in no position to comment as it has not heard official word that Huang Guangyu will be emancipated any sooner than planned, it said in a statement today.

Recent media reports have suggested that Huang, who founded the company in 1987, is set to be released in the near future. The 50-year-old entrepreneur was sentenced to 14 years in 2010 for illegal business operations, insider trading and bribery, and had to pay CNY800 million (USD118 million) in fines. His sentence was commuted twice and he was set to remain behind bars until Feb. 16, 2021.

Huang was named China's richest man in 2004, after capitalizing on increased consumer spending near the turn of the millennium and building a retail empire spanning 30 outlets across the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Some now believe that with the return of Huang, the company will look to expand into the United States, according to sources who spoke with the Securities Times. Gome's Beijing Gome Electric Appliance has recently changed its legal representative to an unknown individual Liu Lihuan, replacing Huang's mother Zeng Changshen, which the sources believe is in preparation for a stateside expansion.

Editor: James Boynton