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Family members' business empire likely to continue unharmed

Deng's death is unlikely to harm in the near future the multi-billion US dollar business empire controlled by his family members.

But their influence is expected to fade in the long term, analysts said. 'Nothing is going to happen to them as Beijing will pursue stability above anything else in the immediate post-Deng era,' said a senior China analyst at a leading European investment bank.

Among the five locally listed companies directly controlled by Deng's two sons-in-law, share prices of four rose yesterday while one remained unchanged.

Other analysts said many of Deng's relatives were too well entrenched to be removed easily.

In Hong Kong, Deng's son-in-law, Wu Jianchang, is chairman of Hong Kong-listed metal traders Onfem Holdings, Oriental Metals (Holdings), and Silver Grant, a retail and infrastructure company.

He Ping, another son-in-law, is vice-chairman of Poly Investment Holdings and Continental Mariner Investment, controlled by the China Poly Group - the investment arm of China's armed forces.

Mr He is also the deputy chairman of the China Poly Group.

In Beijing, an official at the state-owned China National Non-Ferrous Metals Industry Corporation, of which Mr Wu is the president, said the death of Deng would not bring any personnel changes or any negative impact on the company or its three Hong Kong-listed subsidiaries.

'Mr Wu is widely respected for his business acumen and ability,' said the official.

'He has engineered the company's significant improvement in performance in the past few years. We do not expect any change to his position.' However, several analysts said most of Deng's children and in-laws could gradually find themselves losing their social and business prominence.

To play safe, they would have to choose an even lower profile than they have now.

Some of Deng's family members have not fared well in the business world and have been in the headlines following business scandals.

Back in the early 1980s, Kang Hua, a large investment company headed by Deng Pufang, Deng's eldest son, was closed by the Government for profiteering and other irregular business activities.

Mr Deng Pufang has since stayed largely out of business.

Deng Zhifang, Deng's youngest son, quit as vice-chairman of the mainland steel maker Shougang Corp's listed flagship Shougang Concord International not long after his close business associate and chairman of Shougang Concord Zhou Beifang was arrested on corruption charges in early 1995.

Mr He has recently been beset by US accusations concerning the operations of a subsidiary of the China Poly Group and rumours that his position has been questioned.

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