This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/business/global/chinese-company-shares-details-of-corruption-investigation.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Chinese Company Shares Details of a Corruption Investigation | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| HONG KONG — A company listed in Hong Kong that is caught up in a corruption investigation focused on China’s biggest state-owned oil conglomerate said on Thursday that Chinese investigators had questioned it about projects, seized documents and frozen some bank accounts. | |
| The company, Wison Engineering Services, disclosed the details in an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. They are the latest public signs of a spreading corruption inquiry that has brought down one senior Chinese Communist Party official, Jiang Jiemin, and encroached on Zhou Yongkang, the retired head of China’s powerful domestic security administration. | The company, Wison Engineering Services, disclosed the details in an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. They are the latest public signs of a spreading corruption inquiry that has brought down one senior Chinese Communist Party official, Jiang Jiemin, and encroached on Zhou Yongkang, the retired head of China’s powerful domestic security administration. |
| “As part of their investigations, the regulatory authorities made enquiries about certain projects” of Wison and its subsidiaries, and have “taken books and records and frozen certain bank accounts,” the company said. | “As part of their investigations, the regulatory authorities made enquiries about certain projects” of Wison and its subsidiaries, and have “taken books and records and frozen certain bank accounts,” the company said. |
| Hua Bangsong, the billionaire chairman and founder of Wison, has been assisting authorities in China with the investigation, the company said this month. In its latest announcement, Wison said it had been unable to contact Mr. Hua, and that Zhao Hongbin, a financial manager of a Wison subsidiary, was also “assisting in the investigation.” | Hua Bangsong, the billionaire chairman and founder of Wison, has been assisting authorities in China with the investigation, the company said this month. In its latest announcement, Wison said it had been unable to contact Mr. Hua, and that Zhao Hongbin, a financial manager of a Wison subsidiary, was also “assisting in the investigation.” |
| Wison is one of several engineering and equipment companies caught up in the inquiry into the China National Petroleum Corporation, usually called C.N.P.C., and its listed subsidiary, PetroChina, which trades in Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York. PetroChina has been one of Wison’s main sources of revenue. | Wison is one of several engineering and equipment companies caught up in the inquiry into the China National Petroleum Corporation, usually called C.N.P.C., and its listed subsidiary, PetroChina, which trades in Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York. PetroChina has been one of Wison’s main sources of revenue. |
| Wison, which is part of a group with headquarters in Shanghai, said the Chinese authorities had not told it what precisely they were investigating, or how Mr. Hua and Mr. Zhao were involved. The company suspended trading in its shares in early September. | Wison, which is part of a group with headquarters in Shanghai, said the Chinese authorities had not told it what precisely they were investigating, or how Mr. Hua and Mr. Zhao were involved. The company suspended trading in its shares in early September. |
| In late August, four senior managers of C.N.P.C. and PetroChina were dismissed as part of a party investigation into reported disciplinary violations, a term that usually means corruption. Days later, Mr. Jiang, a former chairman of C.N.P.C., was publicly accused of the same violations and dismissed from his job running the government agency that administers state-owned companies. | In late August, four senior managers of C.N.P.C. and PetroChina were dismissed as part of a party investigation into reported disciplinary violations, a term that usually means corruption. Days later, Mr. Jiang, a former chairman of C.N.P.C., was publicly accused of the same violations and dismissed from his job running the government agency that administers state-owned companies. |
| Four people who have spoken with senior Chinese officials have said the real target of the investigation is Mr. Zhou, who retired from the Communist Party leadership at a congress in November, after a career that began as an oil technician and senior manager at C.N.P.C. Xi Jinping, who took over as party leader at the same congress, has repeatedly vowed to curtail official corruption and self-enrichment. | Four people who have spoken with senior Chinese officials have said the real target of the investigation is Mr. Zhou, who retired from the Communist Party leadership at a congress in November, after a career that began as an oil technician and senior manager at C.N.P.C. Xi Jinping, who took over as party leader at the same congress, has repeatedly vowed to curtail official corruption and self-enrichment. |
| “Rather than going directly for the target, the strategy is one of encirclement, removing Zhou’s people one by one from the echelons of power,” Neil Beveridge, a senior analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong who specializes in Chinese energy firms, said in a recent research note. | “Rather than going directly for the target, the strategy is one of encirclement, removing Zhou’s people one by one from the echelons of power,” Neil Beveridge, a senior analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong who specializes in Chinese energy firms, said in a recent research note. |