What’s new: Qu Dejun, co-president and member of the board of Chinese developer Seazen Holdings Co., is out of touch with the company and is involved in an investigation related to his career at Wanda Group, a person familiar with the matter told Caixin.
Seazen said Friday in a filing that it is unable to get in touch with Qu and is unaware of the reason. The Shanghai-traded company said the situation doesn’t affect its normal operation.
A person with knowledge of the situation said Qu is assisting authorities in an investigation involving Qu’s career at Wanda, where he headed the conglomerate’s fintech business. Qu was last seen in public Jan. 16 when he attended a ceremony for Seazen’s business partnership in Xiamen, Fujian province.
Seazen told Caixin that Qu was out of contact for personal matters that are unrelated to the company. Wanda didn’t respond to a Caixin inquiry.
Background: Qu, 58, joined Seazen in early 2020 to oversee the company’s commercial management. Before that, he spent 17 years at Wanda starting in 2002, serving in a number of senior management posts including president of Wanda Financial Group and head of Wanda Internet Technology Group. Qu left Wanda in May 2019.
Wanda formed its financial services unit in 2015 as the developer made a foray into the industry. The group was split into separate entities for internet and financial services. A regulatory crackdown on financial risks since 2017 set the brake on Wanda’s expansion, forcing the company to reshuffle its business and pare back noncore assets.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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