Shanghai Stock Exchange bans Chinese actress Zhao Wei from company boards for five years
- ‘Celebrity effect’ of failed takeover bid by star and husband results in second ban
- Film director Feng Xiaogang also denies online rumours that he evaded tax and was fined by authorities
Billionaire actress and investor Zhao Wei has been banned from key positions at listed companies for five years after a failed takeover attempt two years ago that “disrupted market order”, Chinese authorities said as scrutiny of celebrities’ business affairs intensified.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange said on Tuesday that Zhao and her husband Huang Youlong were unfit to serve as directors, supervisors and senior executives at any listed company, a year after regulators barred them from the securities markets for five years in the same case.
The development emerged after the lawyer of film director Feng Xiaogang denied online rumours that he evaded tax and was fined by authorities. Feng’s lawyer threatened to take legal action against those spreading rumours.
About a month ago, Fan Bingbing – another wealthy actress and a business partner of Feng – was given a bill for more than 880 million yuan (US$127 million) to cover unpaid taxes and fines after she used dual contracts to conceal her real earnings.
Zhao and her husband were penalised for a failed attempt by the company they controlled, Tibet Longwei, to buy a 29.1 per cent stake in internet and mobile company Zhejiang Wanjia in 2016.
They were found to have violated disclosure rules by talking up their intentions at a time when they lacked the resources, or support from financial institutions, to carry off the deal.