By Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Guo Guangchang
Prominent Chinese investor and businessman Guo Guangchang was assisting authorities in an investigation, his company said, after earlier reports that he was unreachable sent shares in his company Fosun International tumbling Friday.
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co, part of his empire, said that the non-executive director Guo is able to remain involved in “substantial issues,” the company said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
China’s financial watchdog agency has been conducting investigations into alleged malpractice on the country’s stock exchange, with several finance executives disappearing to help authorities with their enquiries.
The billionnaire chief executive of Fosun, dubbed China’s Warren Buffet, had been out of contact since Thursday morning, business magazine Caixin had reported. Some social media reports said he was apprehended by police at Shanghai airport.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) said it had been unable to reach the company’s public relations office, but two other Fosun executives denied the Caixin report, and said that the company had been in touch with Guo.
Stocks in Fosun International saw their trading suspended in Hong Kong, after losing 11.4 per cent on the Nasdaq late Thursday in the United States, following the report of Guo’s disappearance, the SCMP reported.
Trading in the affiliated Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical was also suspended in Hong Kong. Both suspensions were requested by Fosun, “pending the release of an announcement containing inside information,” according to a company statement quoted by SCMP.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission last month announced proceedings against two brokerages, CITIC Securities and Guosen Securities, over the stock market tumble that saw the Shanghai index lose around a third of its value over a matter of weeks this summer.
Beijing blames financial services corporations for the slide, provoked by a long run of private investors buying on credit. Several executives and hedge fund managers have been detained or held for questioning.
Guo, 48, is one of China’s richest men.
His Shanghai-based Fosun focuses on insurance, industrial, investment and asset management businesses. It bought French holiday firm Club Mediterranee in May for about 1.1 billion dollars, and owns the US-based Meadowbrook Insurance Group and Ironshore, and Portuguese insurer Caixa Seguros.
In Germany, the company has a stake in the fashion house Tom Tailor and is involved in a takeover bid for BHF Bank in Frankfurt.
You must be logged in to post a comment.