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Oriental Daily: “Wu Xiaohui Is Finally under Investigation; Who Is the Anti-Corruption Sword Pursuing?”

On June 16, 2017, Oriental Daily, a Chinese language newspaper in Hong Kong published an article titled, “Wu Xiaohui Is Finally under Investigation; Who Is the Anti-Corruption Sword Pursuing?” Wu Xiaohui, chairman of the Anbang Insurance Group in China, is the grandson-in-law of Deng Xiaoping, the second-generation top leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When Anbang was established, in the early stages, its original shareholders were state-owned enterprises in Shanghai including SAIC Motor Corporation Limited (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation). All of these enterprises are related to the families of Jiang Zemin, the former top CCP leader after Deng Xiaoping.

Wu Xiaohui became wealthy very quickly due to support from these state-owned enterprises. When Anbang did not make much money, those state-owned enterprises stayed with Anbang; but when Anbang entered the rapid development and profit cycle, the state-owned enterprises withdrew from Anbang. They took a low premium and stopped enjoying the big dividends as Anbang grew.

Many state-owned enterprises play a role as stepping stones for the elite families. State-owned enterprises set up a platform first, if the platform makes money, the state-owned enterprises will find an excuse to withdraw and will transfer their interest to the elites or their agents; if the platform loses money, the losses belong to the nation, and it has nothing to do with the elites.

Oriental Daily suggested that, when the authorities were investigating Anbang, it looked better to investigate all of the similar companies together.

In addition, it is questionable why Anbang has gone crazy making acquisitions overseas. Where did the funds for these mergers and acquisitions come from? Why did Anbang go overseas to make acquisitions? With the arrival of the big data period, if the cash cannot be circulated, the elites’ cash may soon turn into waste paper. However, the amount is so large that an ordinary company simply cannot accommodate it, so they use an insurance company to circulate the cash. Overseas acquisitions provide a good opportunity for the elites to get money out of China. By laundering money, they turn black or grey money into white money through acquisitions. When Anbang purchased the Waldorf Astoria and other well-known hotels, some people suspected that this was money laundering.

Source: Oriental Daily, June 16, 2017
http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170616/mobile/odn-20170616-0616_00182_001.html