One of China’s star fund managers, Wang Yawei, was detained in August, Reuters reported, becoming the latest to be ensnared by a crackdown that’s aimed at rooting out corruption in the nation’s $61 trillion financial sector.
(Bloomberg) — One of China’s star fund managers, Wang Yawei, was detained in August, Reuters reported, becoming the latest to be ensnared by a crackdown that’s aimed at rooting out corruption in the nation’s $61 trillion financial sector.
Wang, the founder of Qianhe Capital Management in Shenzhen and Top Ace Asset Management in Hong Kong, is under investigation by authorities, Reuters reported, citing three people with knowledge of the matter. His case is related to a probe of Zhu Congjiu, the former vice chairman at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the people said.
Once known as the “Big Brother” of the nation’s $3.8 trillion mutual fund industry, Wang rose to fame in the early 2000s by producing stellar returns at China Asset Management Co., then China’s biggest mutual fund manager. He left the firm in 2012 to found his own investment firm, Qianhe Capital Management Co. Qianhe and Wang couldn’t be reached for a comment.
The 52-year-old becomes the latest finance luminary to get caught in a dragnet on the industry that has brought down dozens of prominent executives and regulators. China last month sentenced Wang Bin, the former head of the nation’s largest life insurer, to death with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes and hiding overseas deposits. Authorities also prolonged the detention of China’s top tech banker, Bao Fan, chairman of China Renaissance Holdings Ltd. who has been missing since February.
Chinese authorities warned finance executives in late March that the crackdown on the industry is far from over. At least 100 financial officials and executives have been probed or punished this year. Bankers were also asked to study President Xi Jinping’s thoughts in an ideology push as the Communist Party tightens grip on the sector.
China announced in early May it was investigating Zhu for suspected violations of discipline and law. It has since implicated at least three financial executives, including Qianhe’s Wang. Caixin Global reported earlier that an ex-executive at CSC Financial Co., one of China’s largest investment banks, was assisting authorities in the probe into Zhu.
Wang Qingshan, a former president at Zheshang Securities Co. who has been out of contact since late March, once served as secretary to Zhu when they both worked for the CSRC, local media reported.
Other officials ensnared in China’s financial sector clampdown include former Bank of China Ltd. Chairman Liu Liange and Tian Huiyu, who was president of China Merchants Bank Co.
Xi has pressed ahead with his signature anti-corruption drive after more than a decade in power. The campaign has over the years brought down more than 1.5 million government officials, which has included the execution of Lai Xiaomin, the former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., and life imprisonment of Hu Huaibang, the former chair of China’s biggest policy bank.
–With assistance from Zhang Dingmin.
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