Shares in the firm founded by Yang Bin, China's second-richest man, slumped yesterday amid reports he had fled to North Korea.
An article in the Internet edition of the mainland-based International Finance News , said the Euro-Asia chairman left for North Korea on Wednesday. Shares in the orchid-growing firm dropped more than 7 per cent.
However, Euro-Asia said in a statement: 'The chairman, Mr Yang, has recently been on a business trip and having meetings overseas. He has cut short his trip and is on his way back to Shenyang after learning of a defamatory article.'
Mr Yang was on a business trip to Korea, Japan and Taiwan and originally planned to be back in Shenyang July 25.
Employees in Euro-Asia's Shenyang office said Mr Yang had gone to North Korea to see if it was feasible to set up a production base. They said he would be back in Shenyang this morning to meet Morgan Stanley fund managers in northeast China.
'The fund managers are very important. And this time, if he can appear before the fund managers in person, then that would help clarify that he is not fleeing China,' said Euro-Asia executive director Rex Chiu.
