HONG KONG—The financial empire of missing Chinese-born tycoon Xiao Jianhua has put billions of dollars of investments up for sale, including stakes in a life insurer, a trust and banking assets, three people involved in the process told Reuters.
A billionaire with links to China’s Communist Party elite, Xiao vanished earlier this year. He was last seen in the early hours of Jan. 27, leaving the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong in a wheelchair with his head covered, accompanied by several people described in media reports as mainland Chinese agents.
Xiao’s whereabouts are not known but his dramatic disappearance sparked widespread speculation he had been caught up in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption.
Chinese authorities have not commented on Xiao’s disappearance, and his family could not be reached for comment.
Two of the sources with knowledge of the process said that now Chinese authorities are pressing Tomorrow Holdings, Xiao’s conglomerate, to pare back its sprawling asset portfolio, which includes stakes in more than 30 domestic financial institutions.
The sale is part of Beijing’s broader efforts to rein in risky practices by financial services firms, the sources said. None of the three sources could be named as the sale plans are not public.
The same two sources said Tomorrow had set up an internal team to handle the sale, which will include stakes in Huaxia Life Insurance, New China Trust Co, Bank of Weifang and Baoshang Bank. The stakes are substantial, though the specific percentage levels have not been disclosed and it is unclear if Tomorrow controls all of the companies directly.
No external advisers have been mandated, the sources said, and they also did not give any indication of expected prices for individual assets.
“The process is at an early stage and informal feelers are being sent to some large insurers as well as private equity companies,” said a fourth person with knowledge of the plans.
