Non-financial players that operate in at least two sectors in finance will require licenses, in the latest move to tighten industry control.
The new take effect on November 1 this year and apply to companies with a banking operation and financial assets of over 500 billion yuan ($37.1 billion) or those without but have assets exceeding 100 billion yuan ($14.6 billion), according to a statement from the State Council over the weekend.
Companies covered under the rules will need at least 5 billion yuan ($730 million) in paid registered capital which should account for at least half of total registered capital all controlled financial entities.
Qualified companies that are denied regulatory approval must sell their stakes in the financial companies or give up control.
Unusual Track Record
The list includes Evergrande, HNA Group, Fosun International., Tomorrow Group and Ant Group. In addition to their size, many were shrouded in mystery or spotlighted in major media headlines.
The most recent headline involved conglomerate HNA which saw its chairman Wang Jian pass away in a controversial 2018 death near Avignon in southeastern France. Some media reports alleged that the death was a caused by 15-meter suicide, a claim denied by the local police.
In another headline, Tomorrow Group saw nine related financial firms seized by Beijing and its financier Xiao Jianhua go missing since he was allegedly abducted by Chinese authorities in 2017 from a hotel in Hong Kong. In 2015, billionaire chairman of Fosun, Guo Guangchang – nicknamed «China’s Warren Buffet» – reportedly went missing though state media claimed he was assisting a police investigation.
