Update | China’s missing tycoon Guo Guangchang back after 'assisting authorities' - but is this the end of the matter?
Guo Guangchang, the chairman of conglomerate Fosun International who created a stir when he went missing last week, reappeared at a company meet in Shanghai yesterday but his troubles may be far from over.
Guo, 48, one of China’s most famous billionaires who fashions himself after Warren Buffett, went incommunicado on Thursday afternoon. After a day of frenzied media speculation of him being felled by Beijing’s crackdown on corruption, listed companies under his control late Friday announced he was “assisting in certain investigations carried out by mainland judiciary authorities, and may continue to take part in decision makings via appropriate means”.
It is still not clear in what capacity Guo is aiding the “certain” investigations, or whether his assistance in the matter is over.
Li Haifeng, general manager of Fosun Group’s public relations department, declined to address these queries.
When he turned up for the 2016 Fosun Corporate Communications & Marketing Annual Conference yesterday, Guo himself chose to keep out the subject of his brief disappearance from his speech. He is instead, said to have discussed the company’s strategy and reviewed its performance, according to sources.