The head of a major Beijing property developer has been placed
under questioning, the China Business Times reported
yesterday.
Liu Xiaoguang, president of Beijing Capital Group Ltd (Capital
Group) and chairman of Hong Kong-listed subsidiary Beijing Capital
Land Ltd, was taken away by staff from the Central Commission for
Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central
Committee last Friday.
The Beijing-based newspaper said Liu, 51, is the first real
estate figure questioned by the discipline watchdog following
Beijing Vice-Mayor Liu Zhihua's sudden dismissal on June 11 for
corruption and poor morals. The paper noted that it is not known
yet whether he is linked with alleged corruption involving Liu
Zhihua.
In a sign of the knock-on effect of the case, the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange suspended trading in shares of Beijing Capital Land
(BCL) the past two days following Liu's alleged detention.
Reorganized in December 1995 into 17 economic entities under the
Beijing municipal government, the Capital Group is a large
State-own company and deals with six main industries including
basic municipal infrastructure construction, real estate, finance,
industrial technology, commerce and trade, tourism and hotels.
Consisting of 142 enterprises including five holding companies
listed on domestic and foreign stock markets, the group's total
assets reached 45.2 billion yuan (US$5.57 billion ) and net assets
reached 11 billion yuan (US$1.36 billion) by the end of 2004. With
adequate quality land reserves in various prime districts in
Beijing, the group is dubbed the "landlord of Beijing," the China
Business Times said.
The Capital Group could not be reached yesterday for
comment.
Although Liu Zhihua and Liu Xiaoguang are not believed to be
related, the China Business Times said their portfolios showed
links as the former Beijing vice-mayor was responsible for urban
development while Liu Xiaoguang's firm is a property development
arm of the Beijing municipal government.
However, a spokesman from the Capital Group yesterday denied
that Liu Xiaoguang was arrested or detained, adding that "Liu has
been assisting the investigation since June 17." He told Reuters
News Agency that Liu "has not been arrested or detained, and will
return to work as soon as the job is done."
(China Daily June 22, 2006)