The share price of main-board listed Euro-Asia Agricultural (Holdings), controlled by China's second-richest man, tumbled another 9.89 per cent yesterday amid fresh allegations of land-use irregularities.
Analysts said the company's stock took a battering after a report in Guangzhou's Southern Weekend newspaper claimed that tycoon Yang Bin had not obtained land authority approval before acquiring about 220 hectares of farmland from local residents.
Euro-Asia shares have lost 25.19 per cent in the past two days.
The land in question is now used for Mr Yang's 1.8 billion yuan (about HK$1.68 billion) Holland Village, which houses part of his SAR-listed firm's flower and vegetable production. It is also home to Mr Yang's extravagant real estate development and theme park with indoor beaches and tropical gardens.
Although similar legal concerns have been raised before, the newspaper, respected in the mainland for its provocative reporting, yesterday said Shenyang municipal planning and land officials had confirmed Mr Yang's initial lapse.
'Such a large piece land was being acquired,' the paper quoted Deng Song, a vice-director of the municipal planning and land bureau, as saying. 'Had an application been filed, it definitely would not have been approved.'
Euro-Asia, backed by higher authorities, later secured rights to use the land, the newspaper said.
