Hong Kong-listed home appliance company Gome said it appointed Chen Xiao as acting chairman on Friday, a day after Beijing police confirmed that chairman Huang Guangyu was "under investigation."

Chen Xiao

Also on Friday, the company said that its chief financial officer, Zhou Yafei, was under police investigation. It said it had appointed an acting financial officer.

Gome also set up a "special operations team" to monitor and assess "the impact of Huang's case on the company's financial status and operations."

Preliminary internal investigations haven't found any evidence of embezzlement, said the report.

Huang, China's home appliance tycoon, is under investigation for involvement in "economic crimes," said Beijing police on Thursday.

Huang, 39, whose personal wealth is estimated at 43 billion yuan (more than US$6 billion), is the richest man on the mainland, according to the 2008 Hurun Rich list.

The appliance chain has 1,300 outlets in more than 300 Chinese cities with 300,000 employees. Huang is also a real estate investor.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2008)