More Executives Vanish in China, Casting Chill Over Business Climate

livemint.com:

SINGAPORE—The list of business executives and political figures who have gone missing in China keeps growing. Top executives at a video-streaming platform and a pharmaceutical company were the latest to disappear, as an intensifying clampdown by Beijing on alleged corruption and malfeasance shakes business confidence in China, among local and foreign firms alike. Chen Shaojie, chief executive of livestreaming firm DouYu, has been unreachable since October, a person familiar with the matter said.

The Nasdaq-listed company declined to comment on Chen’s status but said its “business operations remain normal." Chinese tech giant Tencent owned a nearly 38% stake in DouYu as of March. Separately, Shenzhen-listed Shandong Wohua Pharmaceutical said that its chairman, Zhao Bingxian, has been detained and asked to cooperate with an investigation. In a corporate filing dated Monday, Wohua didn’t provide details about the probe but said it wasn’t involved in the matter, and that authorities haven’t notified the firm or sought its assistance.

Neither Chen nor Zhao could be reached for comment. It couldn’t be determined what prompted Chen’s disappearance, which was first reported by a Chinese media outlet, Cover News. The disappearance followed regulatory scrutiny of DouYu.

In May, China’s internet regulator said it was sending a work team to the company to rectify problems that the streaming platform had with “pornographic and crude" content. Since news reports of Chen’s disappearance emerged, DouYu’s share price had dropped by 12% as of market close on Wednesday. Chen and Zhao joined a growing list of Chinese executives who have vanished or been detained this year, including high-profile investment banker, Fan Bao, who was known for