China’s real estate sector is being caught in a whirlwind of oversight by the Chinese Communist Party’s legal and disciplinary bodies. Two prominent real estate companies recently announced that their directors have been taken away for suspected criminal violations or they have lost contact with them.
The Chinese authority’s oversight of the property sector continues to intensify and a number of real estate enterprises underwent varying degrees of staff reshuffling in the past years.
China Fortune Land Development, a leading real estate company in northern Hebei Province, stated on Feb. 14 that it had recently received a notice from the supervisory committee of Chongyang county, Xianning city, Hubei Province, informing that its director and co-president, Meng Jian, had been investigated for suspected illegal crimes, according to Chinese financial media Security Times.
China Fortune Land Development did not specify the case but said that the matter will not impact the company’s decisions and daily operations.
About two weeks before the Chinese Lunar New Year, the company’s administration department suddenly released an restructuring notice indicating Zhao Wei, the former chairman of the C&D Group, would take over Meng’s position, reported Leju, a Chinese real estate and finance media, on Feb. 15.
The Epoch Times reporter tried to contact China Fortune Land Development on Feb. 16, but no one answered the phone.
The 56-year-old joined China Fortune Land Development in 2000 and was promoted from human resources manager to branch general manager to vice president and chairman of the supervisory board, and then to the president in May 2014.
Meng’s also in the spotlight because of his role as chairman of the Hebei Football Club, whose owner is China Fortune Land Development.
Several Chinese media reported the removal of Meng may be related to his partner Li Tie’s involvement in the football corruption case. Li had been the executive vice president and sports director of the club.
‘Lost Contact’
Just a few days before the Meng’s case, another real estate company, Shanghai-based Future Land Development Holdings, made public that they had lost contact with their executive.On Feb.10, Future Land Development Holdings announced that the company was unable to contact Qu Dejun, a director and co-president, but “it will not affect the company’s operating activities,” it said.
According to public reports, Qu’s last public appearance was one month before, on Jan. 16, when he represented the company at the signing ceremony for a construction project.
Under the Communist regime, this type of news from a company stating that a leader is missing, other than from family members or from police, usually means that the person was taken away by regulators and subject to a fully closed and confidential interrogation.
Chinese financial media Caixin said in a Feb. 10 article that a source close to Wanda Group revealed that Qu was missing because he was under investigation for his previous work experience with Wanda Group, where he was in charge of the group’s financial technology business.
Qu joined Future Land Development Holdings in July 2019, but he was the president of the financial group and network technology department in Wanda Group’s Dalian branch for 17 years from 2002 to 2019.
An executive of Wanda Group’s Zhuhai branch told Chinese Financial Magazine that Qu was a trusted assistant to Wang Jianlin, Wanda’s founder and chairman, who was the richest man in real estate with a fortune of 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) in the 2022 Hurun 100 Rich List.
Epoch Times reporter contacted Future Land on Feb. 16, but the employee said they had no knowledge of it.
Chinese Real Estate Executives in Woe
According to Chinese financial media, about nine executives of real estate companies have been taken away for investigation since 2022.In January 2023, Xiamen prosecutor’s office reported that Zhuang Yuekai, former deputy general manager of Xiamen C&D Group and former chairman of C&D Real Estate Group, and Shi Zhen, former chairman of Xiamen C&D City Service Development Co., Ltd., were both arrested on suspicion of bribery and corruption.
Xiamen C&D Group is the largest state-owned enterprise in Xiamen, which was founded in 1980 and its main business covers supply chain operation, urban construction and operation, tourism and convention, medical and health care, and investment in emerging industries.
On Aug. 23, 2022, the Sichuan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Shenzhen Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection issued separate announcements to investigate four big executives in China’s real estate industry.
These persons in question include Tang Yong, former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of China Resources Land, a Hongkong-listed property developer, and Liu Hui, deputy general manager of Shenzhen Talents Housing Group. The group is a wholly state-owned company in Shenzhen responsible for public housing investment, construction, and operation management.
