On October 15, Zhongwang, the Hong Kong-listed Chinese aluminum extrusion manufacturer, suddenly announced that its subsidiaries had encountered serious operational issues. Three of the independent non-executive directors resigned. The Zhongwang Group is Asia’s largest manufacturer of industrial aluminum extrusion products and a Chinese Communist-controlled military-civilian fusion company.
The Zhongwang Group was formed in 1993 in Liaoning province. In 2009, the holding company, China Zhongwang Holdings Limited, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In 2017, Zhongwang acquired Una Aluminum, a high-end German aluminum extrusion company, and Silver Yachts, an Australian all-aluminum super yacht maker. On August 30, Zhongwang suspended trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after it failed to release its financial results by the day they were due.
In 2014 through 2017, Forbes and Hurun named Liu Zhongtian, founder of the Zhongwang Group, the richest man in Liaoning province and the richest man in Northeastern China. He was once worth nearly 30 billion yuan (US$4.7 billion). In 2020, Zhongwang’s share price dropped below 10 billion yuan (US$1.57 billion). In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Liu for an alleged scheme to avoid payment of $1.8 billion in custom duties.
Source: Epoch Times, October 21, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/10/16/n13309339.htm