Shanghai (China), Aug 8 (EFE).- Chinese security organs took Liu Haibo, senior vice president of the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group, reported today by the Shanghai news portal The Paper.
At the moment there is no official confirmation that the manager has been arrested, and the aforementioned media outlet pointed out that “the specific reasons” for what happened are currently unknown.
Liu, who joined the company in 2010, ran the investment business segment.
Since the beginning of the year, China has toughened its anti-corruption campaign in sectors such as finance; Nerves began to surface in February after the disappearance of the well-known banker Bao Fan, who was later revealed to be “collaborating in an investigation” by the authorities.
In March and April, the arrests of Liu Liange and Li Xiaopeng, former presidents of the state-owned Bank of China and the public financial conglomerate Everbright Group, respectively, were reported.
And in May, the billionaire founder of the Cedar Holdings conglomerate, Zhang Jin, was arrested for allegedly illegally raising funds estimated at the equivalent of almost $2.9 billion.
Nor is it being an easy year for Wanda, with great difficulties in carrying out the IPO of a subsidiary which, if it does not take place before the end of 2023, would force the group to pay more than 4,100 million dollars in share repurchase already acquired by investors, which would subject it to “great liquidity pressure,” according to S&P.
In May, the group had to deal with rumors that it was planning mass layoffs and was trying to sell 20 of its malls to raise about $2.2 billion.
The founder of Wanda, Wang Jianlin, was well known in Spain in the middle of the last decade for having owned 20% of Atlético de Madrid or the popular Edificio España, in the center of Madrid, as well as for businesses that did not come to fruition as a possible investment of 3,000 million euros in the so-called Operation Camp or the purchase of 75% of the Marina d’Or tourist complex.
Wanda embarked in those years on a campaign of large investments around the world that led to Wang being considered the richest man in China for several years, but the high level of indebtedness of the group forced him to get rid of numerous assets and shares in sectors such as hotels or entertainment. EFE
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