Fosun International chairman Guo Guangchang attended a company meeting in Shanghai on Monday, a person at the event said, his first public appearance since a report he had gone missing last week sparked share suspension and speculation the firm was being drawn into Beijing's corruption crackdown.
Fosun International shares, which were suspended on Friday after Guo had gone missing, plunged by the most in almost four months after resuming trading on Monday.
The shares closed 9.5 per cent lower at HK$12.08 in Hong Kong, the biggest decline since August 24.
Chinese billionaire Guo was back at work after aiding authorities with an investigation and attended an internal conference on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter.
Caijing magazine earlier reported that Guo had returned home. Guo, who describes himself as a student of Warren Buffett, has built a global empire spanning everything from insurance and holiday resorts to entertainment through dozens of deals over the years.
Shares of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, one of several Guo-related companies halted on Friday, also plunged on Monday in a sign that investors remained jittery about the broader implications for the firms.
“Mr Guo has been instrumental to the development of Fosun and the company’s recent strategy to expand into financial services, notably insurance,” Hong Kong-based Standard and Poor’s analyst Lawrence Lu wrote in a note Monday. Mr Lu didn’t change his rating on the firm, citing a limited impact from the situation so far.
An extended investigation of Guo, if it happened, could affect Fosun’s access to funding and acquisitions the firm is yet to complete, Mr Lu wrote.
Shao Ziqin, a Shenzhen-based analyst at Citic Securities, cut Fosun International’s rating by two levels to hold from buy.
Slower growth prospects amid uncertainties and a lack of investment opportunities limit Fosun International’s upside for valuations, analysts led by Shao wrote in a report Monday.
The analysts expect Fosun to make no new insurance-related acquisition in the near future.
Guo was assisting with an investigation into former Shanghai vice mayor Ai Baojun, people familiar with the situation said Friday.
Ai was “suspected of severe violations of party discipline,” the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on its website last month, using language that often refers to corruption probes. On a conference call Sunday, Fosun International President Wang Qunbin said he remains confident of the company’s cash flow and future, and said that the probe is most likely related to “personal matters.” Fosun management and board members will consider repurchasing shares “when necessary,” Wang said on Sunday.
