Factbox: Chinese business tycoons, executives who disappeared from public view

China Renaissance Holdings

21/02/2023 04:58

HONG KONG, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The disappearance of star
Chinese dealmaker Bao Fan, founder of investment bank China
Renaissance Holdings Ltd  1911.HK , is the latest in a series of
cases of high-profile Chinese executives going missing with
little explanation over the years. 
    China Renaissance said late on Thursday it had been unable
to contact Bao, a disclosure that sent its stock down as much as
50% a day after and has rattled investor nerves over whether
this might indicate a wider crackdown.
    Following is a list of some other high-profile Chinese
executives who have abruptly gone missing from public view in
recent years.
   Qu Dejun - Seazen Group  
   Seazen Holdings, a unit of Chinese real estate developer
Seazen Group  1030.HK , said on Feb. 10 that it had been unable
to contact or reach Qu, who serves as its director and
co-president. 
   Seazen Group later said on Feb. 16 that Qu Dejun had resigned
as vice-chairman due to personal reasons and his inability to
perform his duties. It did not provide any further information
about his circumstances. 
    Ren Zhiqiang - formerly at state-controlled property
developer Huayuan Real Estate Group
    Friends of the influential former property executive said in
March 2020 that Ren had gone missing weeks after he called
President Xi Jinping a "clown" over a speech Xi had made in late
February about the government's efforts to battle the
coronavirus.
    In April, the Beijing municipal anti-corruption watchdog
said he was under investigation. He was sentenced to 18 years in
prison in September of that same year for graft. 
    Yang Zhihui - Landing International
    Casino and resort development Landing International on Aug.
23, 2018 said it was unable to contact its chairman Yang Zhihui,
sparking a more than 30% plunge in its shares. The disclosure
came weeks after the firm's $1.5 billion casino project in the
Philippines had been halted by authorities. 
    Three months later, On Nov. 27, the company said Yang had
resumed his duties after assisting an investigation in China. It
did not provide any information about the probe. 
    Wu Xiaohui - Anbang Insurance Group
    Anbang Insurance Group initially denied media reports in
June 2017 that their then-chairman Wu had been barred from
leaving the country before it later said he was temporarily
unable to fulfil his duties, citing personal reasons. 
    Anbang had pursued a string of high-profile foreign
acquisitions worth over $30 billion under Wu, including its 2015
purchase of New York's landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel. 
    In late March 2018, Wu was put on trial on charges of fraud
and embezzlement. In August that year he was sentenced to 18
years in jail and 10.5 billion yuan of his assets were
confiscated. 
    Ye Jianming - CEFC China Energy
    Ye, the former chairman of the once high-flying conglomerate
CEFC China Energy, disappeared from public view in March 2018
and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters at the time
that he was taken into questioning. 
    Shares and bonds related to CEFC China Energy plunged on the
news, which was first reported by Chinese magazine Caixin. His
whereabouts have since not been disclosed although he has been
named in graft trials of senior Communist Party officials and
state bank executives. 
    Xiao Jianhua – Tomorrow Holdings 
    Billionaire Xiao was whisked away from a luxury Hong Kong
hotel in a wheelchair on Jan. 27, 2017 with his head covered, a
source told Reuters at the time. 
    In August last year, a Chinese court sentenced Xiao to 13
years in jail and the Tomorrow Holdings conglomerate a record
high fine of 55.03 billion yuan, convicting him and his firm of
offences including illegally siphoning away public deposits and
the illegal use of funds and bribery, the court said.
    Chinese financial regulators in 2020 took over brokerages,
trust companies and insurers linked to the group. 
    Guo Guangchang – Fosun International 
    Club Med owner Fosun International  0656.HK  said in
December 2015 that its founder and chairman Guo was "assisting
in certain investigations carried out by mainland judiciary
authorities", after local media reported it had lost contact
with Guo. 
    The news sparked fear among investors and sent stock prices
tumbling, but Guo resumed duties a few days after the reports,
attending a company meeting in Shanghai and flying to the United
States. 
    Yim Fung - Guotai Junan Securities
    Guotai Junan  601211.SS  reported its chairman and CEO Yim
Fung missing in November 2015 and a month later said he had
resumed his duties after helping mainland authorities with an
unspecified investigation. 
    The nature of the investigation was unknown, but Yim's
absence coincided with an anti-graft campaign in the financial
sector following a market slump.
 (Reporting by Brenda Goh and Xie Yu; Editing by Sumeet
Chatterjee and Sonali Paul)
 ((Yu.Xie@thomsonreuters.com;))