A Missing Tycoon’s Links to China’s Troubled Dalian Wanda
But a review of documents indicates that business associates of Mr. Xiao were involved both in the process leading up to Wanda’s 2014 initial public offering in Hong Kong
and its privatization less than two years later, according to numerous corporate filings in China and Hong Kong.
Now both Wanda and that billionaire, Xiao Jianhua, are under official pressure in China — and one Wanda insider says that may not be a coincidence.
One firm that helped Wanda finance the buyout was an investment vehicle controlled by a partnership
called Pohua JT Capital Partners, according to corporate records in Hong Kong.
Wanda is one of a number of companies in China that have come to be known as gray rhinos: politically connected private companies
that have invested billions of dollars abroad and borrowed heavily from Chinese banks.
A business partner of Mr. Xiao, Yang Hongwei, held a senior position at an investment firm that helped oversee a Wanda private share sale in 2009.
It is not clear whether Wanda actively sought his help or whether Mr. Xiao’s connections
in the Chinese business world are so extensive that they could be difficult to avoid.
