Exclusive | Fosun’s founder Guo Guangchang quashes rumour he’s missing, says business is steady and robust

Guo Guangchang, founder and chairman of the Chinese conglomerate that owns the Club Med resorts chain, said he’s working with law enforcement to find out who’s spreading rumours about him, insisting that business at one of China’s largest asset acquirers is steady and robust.

“I’ve just returned from a business trip to Xi’an to deliver a speech on behalf of Shanghai and Zhejiang businesspeople, and I’ve just caught up on the news,” Guo said in an interview at Fosun’s Shanghai head office with the South China Morning Post. “Our ongoing operations are steady and robust. We thank our investors and everyone for your concerns. We’ve had a good 2016, and we expect to have an even better 2017.”

Guo’s comments are his first response since the share price of the company’s flagship drugmaker Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group fell as much as 8.8 per cent on the city’s bourse, dropping as much as 7.1 per cent in Hong Kong. The shares recovered on both exchanges after Fosun issued two statements, describing the talk of Guo missing as “pure rumour and vicious slander.”

Analysts said concerns over Guo’s whereabouts, though unfounded, raised concerns about the company’s longer term growth outlook. He’d also been reported to be unreachable in December 2015, when Fosun executives had explained that he was helping China’s judicial authorities with an unspecified investigation.

“It looks like that the company is always entangled with rumours and speculation,” said Wang Zheng, chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment Management in Shanghai. “That will raise concerns among investors whether the company is able to become bigger.’’

Guo was quick to set the record straight when asked by UBS analyst Angus Cheng on a telephone conference with investors, led by the investment bank. The call was live streamed on the internet and was simultaneously watched by more than 1,000 people.