What’s new: A long-time deputy general manager of state-owned Shanghai United Media Group Inc. (SUMG), is being investigated by local graft busters, according to a Thursday statement.
Cheng Feng, 51, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” — a common euphemism for corruption — the Shanghai Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a one-line statement.
Following the announcement, Orient Securities Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Xinhua Media Co. Ltd. issued statements noting that Cheng, who holds senior positions in the companies, is not in charge of their daily operations and management.
The background: Cheng has served as the deputy general manager of SUMG for nearly a decade, joining the media conglomerate in October 2013 when it was formed by a merger of two major newspaper groups in Shanghai. It 2018, He also became chairman of The Paper, a digital news outlet managed by SUMG.
Cheng previously spent more than eight years at Shanghai International Group Co. Ltd., a financial holding company that specializes in state-owned asset operation and investment management. He served in roles including office director, as well as party chief and chairman of the group’s subsidiary Shanghai State-Owned Assets Management Co. Ltd.
The Shanghai native studied industrial foreign trade at the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong University and later earned an MBA from the same institution.
Earlier this week, the head of Shanghai’s top legislative body, Dong Yunhu, was placed under investigation by the Communist Party’s top anti-graft watchdog.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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