Xiao Jianhua (Photo : NewsBeat Social/YouTube)
Hong Kong billionaire Xiao Jianhua is allegedly being held by Chinese authorities because of his potential to bring instability to the stock markets of China. As one of the richest and politically connected financier in China, Xiao’s inside knowledge of the financial transactions of the powerful clans in China could cause instability which is a no-no before the Communist Party of China picks five new members to the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee.
Beijing’s control over Xiao is not limited to the billionaire but includes his employees in the mainland. The New York Times reported that at least 30 workers of Xiao were prevented from leaving China. Another employee was held at the Hong Kong Airport on Sunday night. The employee worked on computer systems at the companies of Xiao and was on his way to Japan when he was detained for alleged passport violations.
Forcible Abduction?
Xiao was allegedly forcibly abducted from his Four Seasons apartment in Hong Kong. His head was covered by a cloth and Xiao was in a wheelchair when he was transported by boat from Hong Kong to the mainland. He is in police custody, reports said.
The Tomorrow Group, the companies established by Xiao in 1999, has control over billions of dollars in assets, while the conglomerate’s holdings cover shares in over 30 financial institutions in China such as insurance giant Ping An, Harbin Bank and Industrial Bank.
Stock Market Gyrations Probe
He was allegedly abducted before the Party meeting in October or November which values stability. A Hong Kong daily said the billionaire is helping probe stock market gyrations in China in 2015. The movements are seen as influencing the more than 40 percent decline in shareprices in Shanghai which had reached high levels in early June 2015 but plummeted in more than two months’ time.
Epoch Times reported that a deleted post from a social media account of the Tomorrow Group and a front page advertisement in a prominent newspaper in Hong Kong claimed Xiao is overseas seeking medical treatment. It added Xiao is actually assisting in corruption investigations to implicate the other members of the Jiang faction.
