The chairman of Fosun Group, described as China’s Warren Buffett, attended the company’s annual meeting on Monday

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The billionaire chairman of Fosun Group, one of China’s biggest privately held conglomerates, has appeared again in public after being investigated by authorities, Chinese media said.



Guo Guangchang, dubbed “China’s Warren Buffett”, attended Fosun Group’s annual meeting in Shanghai on Monday morning, pictures posted by business magazine Caijing showed.

Guo had been out of contact since Thursday and two of the group’s listed arms in Shanghai said in statements issued last week that the 48-year-old was “assisting in certain investigations” conducted by mainland authorities.

The statements stressed the probes had no “material adverse impact” on the finances or operations of the parent company.

Caijing said on Monday that Guo has “finalised” assisting in the inquiries and “returned home safely”.

It was not immediately clear what the investigation was in relation to, but it comes as China targets the financial sector as part of a sweeping anti-graft campaign in the wake of financial turbulence that rocked global markets in July and August.

Fosun Group is one of China’s biggest private companies, and has interests in property, finance, pharmaceuticals, steel and entertainment, and has been aggressively buying assets in Europe and North America, including Club Med.



Police apprehended Guo at a Shanghai airport last week, according to Chinese media citing social media postings.

Other reports said he was being questioned in connection with a probe into former Shanghai vice mayor and director of the Shanghai free trade zone Ai Baojun, who was placed under investigation last month by the Communist party’s internal anti-graft body for “severe disciplinary violations”, a euphemism for corruption.

Ai’s wife was allegedly investigated on suspicion of manipulating the stock market. She died of kidney failure a week before Ai fell.

Since coming to power Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged a much-publicised anti-corruption campaign that has ensnared a long list of officials, including the country’s former security chief Zhou Yongkang.



Guo is China’s 17th richest person with a net worth of $5.6bn, according to Bloomberg News. Fosun Group’s flagship subsidiary, Fosun International, has net assets of 50 billion yuan ($7.8 billion).



Guo is a member of the Chinese people’s political consultative conference, a debating chamber that is part of the party-controlled governmental structure.

Shares in Fosun’s listed subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Shanghai resumed trading on Monday after being suspended on Friday.

Fosun International plunged nearly 11% in Hong Kong, while Fosun Pharmaceutical dropped almost 6% in Shanghai and dived 11.65% in the former British colony.

Fosun officials were not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP on Monday.

