Detention of Anbang boss a milestone in financial industry crackdown, analysts say
Wu Xiaohui – who married a granddaughter of Deng Xiaoping – is reportedly the latest heavyweight to be detained amid anti-graft drive
The reported detention of Anbang Insurance chairman Wu Xiaohui could be a milestone in efforts to take on vested interests – many with connections to the political elite – in China’s financial sector, paving the way for reform, analysts say.
Wu is the latest figure said to have been detained for investigation in a financial industry crackdown which began after a stock market rout in the summer of 2015 that wiped trillions of yuan from the portfolios of small investors – costing Beijing hundreds of billions of yuan in a bailout.
It later developed into an extensive operation seeking to stem collusion among senior regulators, family members of the ruling elite and tycoons.
“Senior executives in China’s financial sector usually have powerful [political] backers. The anti-graft campaign in this sector is not only about corruption – it also aims to reduce interference by these backers,” said Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of Peking University’s Clean Government Centre.
“If these backers are still around, any attempt at financial reform will be futile. The ties with these backers need to be cut to overhaul the financial sector,” he said.