Landing International Development Chairman Yang Zhihui is no longer missing in action after the company announced that he had “resumed his duties as Chairman of the Board” on Monday.
Landing has been unable to contact Yang for the past three months amid reports he was detained by authorities in Cambodia in late August and taken back to China in relation to his business links to China’s state-owned Huarong International Financial Holdings Ltd, whose former head is being investigated in a graft probe.
However, in an announcement late Monday, the company said that Yang has now returned to normal duty after apparently being released by Chinese authorities.
“Mr Yang explained that he has been assisting the relevant department of the People’s Republic of China with its investigation during the period of his absence,” Landing said.
Yang holds a 50.48% stake in Landing through a wholly-owned Chinese company.
His August disappearance came just weeks after he was present at a groundbreaking ceremony for Landing’s planned US$1.5 billion integrated resort in Manila – a project that seems unlikely to go ahead after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte fired the board of Landing’s local partner and insisted that no new casinos would be built under his watch.
The day before Yang’s disappearance was revealed, the company was forced to suspend trading after its stock price plummeted 35% from HK$5.60 to HK$3.71 in less than two hours.
In Monday’s announcement, Landing said that “the business and operations of the group have been steady and normal currently and during the period while Mr Yang was temporarily absent.”
