Ex-Citic Group boss Wang Jun dies at 78
Son of one of China’s illustrious Eight Elders rose to become head of state investment giant
Wang Jun, the son of one of communist China’s founding elders and a former chairman of the largest state conglomerate, has died aged 78.
News outlet Thepaper.cn in Shanghai said Wang died at 10.56pm on Monday, citing unidentified sources and without elaborating. Xinhua state news agency had yet to run a report.
Wang, who carried the rank of a full government minister, was chairman of China International Trust and Investment Corporation, better known as Citic, between 1995 and 2006.
With 375 billion yuan (HK$425 billion) in 2013 revenue, the state investment vehicle was China’s largest company and one of the biggest owners of foreign assets in the world, operating businesses from banking and finance to real estate and heavy industries.
It was founded in 1979 as a vehicle for the central government to raise capital when it embarked on market reforms. Founder Rong Yiren – dubbed the Red Capitalist – was China’s vicepresident from 1993 until 1998.
Wang was born in Hunan province in 1941, while his father Wang Zhen was a brigade commander in one of the most celebrated commune farms operated by the then communist guerillas.
After the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, the senior Wang was hailed one of the Eight Elders of the Communist Party and served as vice-president from 1988 to 1993.
Wang Jun worked as a shipyard engineer and served two years with the navy of the People’s Liberation Army before joining Citic as a department chief.
He was promoted to Citic’s president in 1993 and was elevated into the top position of the conglomerate three years later as chairman of the board.
At that time before China’s membership of the World Trade Organisation and before hundreds of mainland firms raised capital through global stock market listings, Citic was the largest single Chinese conglomerate. It answered directly to the State Council or cabinet.
Wang also chaired the board of Poly Group, a state conglomerate with businesses that stretched from antiquities to real estate and military supplies and armaments.
Citic Pacific, the international arm of the group, was at the centre of a scandal in 2008 when it had to write off HK$14.7 billion in losses due to wrong-way bets in the currency market. It forced Larry Yung Chi-kin – the son of Citic’s founder and one of China’s wealthiest men – to step down as the Hong Kong-listed company’s executive chairman. Yung is also known on the mainland as Rong Zhijian.
By the time the scandal broke, Wang had already reached retirement age and stepped down.
He is survived by his wife Ye Xiaoying, youngest daughter of the late Marshal Ye Jianying, one of the country’s founding leaders, two sons and a daughter.