Chinese real estate company Vanke announced on January 27 that CEO Zhu Jiusheng has resigned for “health reasons.”
In a statement today, Vanke said CEO Zhu Jiusheng had submitted his resignation “due to health reasons” and that he “will no longer hold any position within the company,” according to AFP.
However, Vanke did not confirm or deny reports that Mr. Zhu had been “taken away” by authorities earlier. On January 17, Chinese newspaper Economic Reporter cited sources saying Mr. Zhu had been “taken away by security officials,” but it did not clarify whether he had been formally arrested.
An article by Economic Observer did not specify what charges Mr. Zhu might face. At that time, Economic Observer reported that calls and messages sent to Mr. Zhu and those close to him went unanswered.
Vanke, which is listed in Hong Kong and partially owned by the Shenzhen municipal government, is the fourth-largest real estate company in China by sales in the past year, according to research firm CRIC.
Like other real estate tycoons in China, Vanke is facing a years-long debt crisis, and on January 27, in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company warned of a net loss of about 45 billion yuan (6.2 billion USD) last year.
“The company deeply apologizes for this loss and will make every effort to improve its business operations,” Vanke emphasized in a separate statement, according to AFP.
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