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Four years ago, Jack Ma was the embodiment of China’s spectacular economic rise. Already the country’s wealthiest and most famous businessman, he was poised to become one of the richest in the world. The expected initial public offering of Mr. Ma’s fintech company, Ant Group, was projected to surpass the record-shattering launch of his e-commerce giant, Alibaba. At the same time, another wealthy Chinese businessman was awaiting a very different fate. Mr. Xiao had amassed a fortune manipulating markets and cultivating close ties to relatives of top Chinese officials, and he was about to be made an example.

Persons: Jack Ma, Ma’s, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Xiao Jianhua, Xiao Organizations: Ant, The New York Times Locations: China

No businessman in China was more successful, famous or rich than Jack Ma, whose magic touch turned companies like Alibaba into international juggernauts. But an investigation by The New York Times and The Wire China found that another Chinese businessman, with deep connections to relatives of China’s political elite, had been secretly investing in Mr. Ma’s companies. Through a network of shell companies and stand-ins, that businessman, Xiao Jianhua, entered into deals in Mr. Ma’s companies over a period of five years, the investigation found. Mr. Xiao, a billionaire, is now in detention serving a 13-year-sentence for bribery and corruption, a high-profile target in President Xi Jinping’s dramatic consolidation of power. Mr. Ma, for his part, has all but retreated from public life, having no formal role in the companies he founded.

Persons: Jack Ma, Xiao Jianhua, Xiao, Xi, Ma, Alibaba, Ma “, Ma’s Organizations: The New York Times, Mr Locations: China

☆ Opinion: The dangers in leaving TikTok at Beijing’s disposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For many of the 170 million TikTok users in the United States, Wednesday’s vote in the House of Representatives to effectively ban the social media platform is worrisome. That’s just one reason why it’s laughable to hear China’s foreign ministry claim that the TikTok bill would disrupt market operations and undermine investor confidence. Most of the world’s most popular social media apps, incidentally, are banned in China unless they — or their user data — are locally based and thus easily overseen by the government. She has had multiple meetings with legislators and has spoken with Trump about protecting TikTok, according to the Washington Post. The government needs to develop oversight rules for all social media.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Donald Trump, TikTok, Shou Chew, “, Jack Ma —, Xiao Jianhua, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Trump, ” Trump, ”, Jeff Yass, Kellyanne Conway, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, ByteDance, Frida Ghitis CNN, Pew Research, Facebook, Oracle, National Intelligence, Rutgers University, Air Force One, Microsoft, Trump, Citizens United Locations: United States, Washington, Russia, TikTok, Beijing, That’s, China, Israel, Tibet, Hong Kong, USSR

☆ Evergrande founder joins list of Chinese tycoons investigated, arrested
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Following is a list of some other high-profile Chinese executives who have been investigated or arrested under Xi's leadership. BAO FAN, FOUNDER OF CHINA RENAISSANCEThe founder of China Renaissance Holdings (1911.HK) was detained in February and the investment bank said in August he was co-operating with authorities as investigations continued. Wu was arrested in June 2017 amid Beijing’s campaign to curtail big-spending conglomerates as it cracked down on financial risk. YE JIANMING, FOUNDER OF CEFC CHINA ENERGYIn 2017, Ye's CEFC agreed to buy a nearly $9.1 billion stake in Russian oil major Rosneft. A year later, he was investigated for suspected economic crimes and disappeared from public view in March 2018.

Persons: Hui Ka Yan, Xi Jinping, ZHAO WEIGUO, Tsinghua Unigroup, Zhao, Bao, Morgan Stanley, Didi, XIAO JIANHUA, Xiao, CHEN FENG, TAN XIANGDONG, GROUP, Tan, WU XIAOHUI, Wu, JIANMING, Ye's CEFC, magazine's, Kane Wu, Selena Li, Anne Marie Roantree, Miyoung Kim, Lincoln Organizations: HK, Evergrande, TSINGHUA UNIGROUP, Tsinghua University, Tsinghua, OF CHINA, China Renaissance Holdings, Credit Suisse Group, OF, China's Communist Party elite, Reuters, HNA, Hainan Airlines, Deutsche Bank, Hilton Worldwide, Prosecutors, Thomson Locations: China, Chinese, Guangdong, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hainan, CHINA

☆ The Mystery of the Disappearing van Gogh
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( May | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He also controlled a hidden offshore network of more than 130 companies holding over $5 billion in assets, according to corporate documents obtained by The New York Times. Among them was Sotheby’s invoice for the van Gogh. Today, Mr. Xiao is a man who has fallen far. And the still life, according to several art experts, has been offered for private sale. For a century after van Gogh gathered flowers and placed them in an earthen vase to paint, the artwork’s provenance could be easily traced, and the piece was often exhibited in museums for visitors to admire.

☆ Factbox: Chinese business tycoons, executives who disappeared from public view
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Following is a list of some other high-profile Chinese executives who have abruptly gone missing from public view in recent years. Three months later, On Nov. 27, the company said Yang had resumed his duties after assisting an investigation in China. Shares and bonds related to CEFC China Energy plunged on the news, which was first reported by Chinese magazine Caixin. Chinese financial regulators in 2020 took over brokerages, trust companies and insurers linked to the group. Reporting by Brenda Goh and Xie Yu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China Renaissance CEO Bao Fan goes missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —One of China’s top investment bankers has become unreachable, according to his company. China Renaissance, an investment bank and private equity firm based in Beijing, said in a Thursday filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it “has been unable to contact” Bao Fan, its chairman and CEO. Shares of the company plunged as much as 50% in Hong Kong on Friday following the news. Bao did not immediately respond to messages from CNN on WeChat on Friday, while China Renaissance hasn’t yet responded to a request for comment. Chinese authorities detained Cong Lin, the company’s president, in September, it reported, citing unidentified sources.

☆ China's EV giant BYD in talks to acquire insurer Yi'an
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The BYD Atto 3 EV car is displayed at the 39 Thailand International Motor Expo, in Bangkok, Thailand, November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/FilesSHANGHAI, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD said on Tuesday it is working on a potential acquisition of Yi'an P&C Insurance Co, an insurer that was seized by Chinese regulators two years ago as part of a crackdown on financial conglomerates. Chinese business publication Caixin reported earlier this month, citing unnamed sources, that BYD would fully take over the insurer and would use it to start an insurance business targeting electric vehicles. Yi'an P&C Insurance was among nine firms Chinese regulators seized from the Tomorrow Holdings conglomerate in July 2020. China banking and insurance regulator said last year it had agreed to allow Yi'an P&C Insurance to enter bankruptcy and reorganisation procedures.

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