The rise and fall of tycoon Yang Bin, who was jailed for 18 years in Shenyang yesterday, provides a cautionary tale for the mainland's growing band of pioneering entrepreneurs.
Deng Xiaoping once famously said that to grow rich is glorious. But as the central government steps up its battle against corruption and seeks to bring errant entrepreneurs into line, it is becoming clearer that this is not always the case.
Yang, a Chinese-Dutch orchid farmer and property dealer, was ranked by Forbes magazine in 2001 as the second wealthiest man in China, with assets of US$900 million. But the cracks were already becoming apparent when he really came to international attention last September, with his surprise appointment as the first chief executive of a new Special Administrative Region in North Korea.
At that time there was speculation that his Hong Kong-listed company was in trouble and that he was being investigated by mainland authorities. Within weeks, he was under arrest. The North Korean adventure was stopped in its tracks and Yang's empire began to disintegrate. The decline was complete yesterday when he was jailed for crimes including fraud, corruption, and illegal land use.
Whether he serves the full 18-year term, or is sent back to the Netherlands, the heavy punishment will send a clear message to the mainland's business elite. Fame and fortune is no guarantee of protection for those who acquire their wealth by corrupt and dishonest means.
It is a message which needs to be conveyed. The mainland's transition from planned economy to an increasingly free-market model has given rise to the kind of robber-baron culture which has characterised most emerging economies. One after another, entrepreneurs among China's most wealthy have found themselves under investigation and arrest.
