Chinese wealth manager Hywin to offer resolution plans after missed payments
18/12/2023 04:28
BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 18 (Reuters) - China's Hywin
Wealth Management said it is reviewing its outstanding business
and will provide resolution plans to investors by month-end,
following missed payments on some investment products amid
Chinese property-sector woe.
Hywin, whose products are primarily invested in real estate,
said last week it had been unable to promptly fulfil client
redemption requests.
In a statement on Sunday, Hywin said without elaborating
that "according to the latest regulatory policies and industry
trends, Hywin has decided to withdraw."
It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"Recently, impacted by the economic downturn, payments of
some projects have been delayed, causing inconvenience to
investors," Hywin said in the Sunday statement. "We sincerely
apologise for this."
"Hywin has set up a special task force to actively work with
relevant parties on formulating plans to resolve issues," it
said.
Hywin is a small player in wealth management with disclosed
total assets of 2.37 billion yuan ($328 million) as of June-end,
yet its troubles illustrate how a faltering property sector is
causing strain throughout the financial system.
The share price of parent Hywin Holdings HYW.O fell nearly
18% to a record low on Friday. It was down about 15% in Monday
trade.
Shares of Shanghai Guijiu 600696.SS , a spirit maker
connected to Hywin, also extended losses on Monday, falling 7.5%
to touch their lowest price since April 2021.
Guijiu's biggest shareholder is Shanghai Guijiu Enterprise
Development with 42.88%, showed data from company information
provider Qichacha. That shareholder is controlled by Han Xiao,
son of Hywin controller Han Hongwei, local media reported.
(Reporting by Ziyi Tang, Ryan Woo and Shanghai Newsroom;
Editing by Christopher Cushing)
((Ziyi.Tang@thomsonreuters.com;))