Billionaire head of China’s Fosun re-emerges after ‘disappearance’

Guo Guangchang, the high-profile Chinese tycoon, was reported missing by his staff on Friday but Fosun later confirmed he was assisting authorities with a probe.

According to Chinese finance publisher Caixin, Guo gave a 10-minute speech and received a standing ovation but did not touch on his disappearance, having reportedly been whisked away by police at a Shanghai airport after a flight from Hong Kong. Limited (HKG:1788), Mr. Guo Guangchang, executive director and chairman of Fosun International Limited (HKG:0656, ) reappeared this morning to attend a corporate event.

He said in the future Fosun will rely more heavily on China, and underlined that its industrial structure should be able to gain strength from that, and that it will also make continued effort to build its global operations. But questions lingered on whether the self-made billionaire’s movements are being restricted.

“While news of missing top executives are unlikely to affect the company’s operations in the short term, it may affect how investors view the company’s performance in the long run”, Bernard Aw, market strategist at spread betting firm IG, said in a telephone interview.

Property and mining businesses lie at the core of Guo’s empire. It has interests spanning media, insurance, real estate and retail.

An official at a Shanghai-based state-owned bank, who also did not want to be named, said Guo’s reappearance partly restored creditors’ confidence but they are highly likely to cut Fosun’s credit lines if they sense he himself is embroiled in any corruption probe.

The trading of Fosuns shares and convertible bonds, as well as shares in companies controlled by Mr Guo, were suspended in Hong Kong and the mainland last Friday, although the company said shares would resume trading today.

Fosun International and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co slumped 9.5 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively. But it is yet to change the rating for Fosun International from Ba3.

Moody’s, which rates Fosun just one notch above junk status, estimates Fosun had $2.8 billion in unpaid bills for acquisitions at the end of a year ago while Thomson Reuters data shows it owed $15 billion at the end of June, more than its current market value of $13.2 billion.

The booth of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical at an industry expo in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, in September.