Advertisement

New | Guotai Junan under scrutiny more than a week before chairman’s disappearance

Guotai Junan along with 17 other institutions subject to “inspection tours” by Communist Party

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A file photo of Yim Fung, Vice Chairman and CEO of Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd. pictured in his office at Grand Millennium Plaza, Central on June 2010. Photo: SCMP

A Communist Party inspection team had been inside the mainland operations of Guotai Junan Securities for 10 days before the firm revealed it had lost contact with its Hong Kong chairman.

Advertisement

The latest revelations come amid a new round of party “inspection tours” at state-backed enterprises and universities. The “tours” are a common tool used by Party officials to quiz employees on corruption or illegal allegations and come during a busy few months for inspectors after dozens of senior finance executives were detained on various market misconduct charges.

Haitong Securities, Shanghai Electric, Shanghai Airport Authority and the Shanghai Maritime University are among 18 institutions under scrutiny, according to an announcement posted on the website of the Shanghai division of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

Separately, the Asset Management Association of China announced Monday via its website that it had lost contact with 12 domestic hedge funds and would classify them as “missing” if the firms did not contact the industry association.

The Guotai Junan “tour” began November 13.

Advertisement
On Monday morning Guotai Junan announced in a filing to Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing it had been unable to reach its Hong Kong head Yim Fung - also known as Yan Feng - since last Wednesday. The news sent the firm’s shares down sharply Monday, though they recovered somewhat Tuesday, closing up 2.5 per cent at HK$2.92.
Advertisement