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The Paper reporter Yue Huairang

On July 26, the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission of Shaxian District, Sanming City, Fujian Province announced on its official website that Tong Youjian, chairman of the Shaxian District Snack Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd., is suspected of serious violations of duty and is currently under supervision and investigation by the Shaxian District Supervision Commission.

The picture shows Tong Youjian, who was dismissed from his post this month.

Public information shows that Tong Youjian, male, Han nationality, was born in September 1968, has a bachelor's degree, and started working in August 1989.

Tong Youjian became the general manager of Fujian Shayang Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd. in April 2020, the chairman and general manager of Shaxian District Snack Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd. in August 2021, and the chairman of Shaxian District Snack Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd. in December 2023. In July 2024, Tong Youjian was dismissed from his post.

According to the company's official website, Shaxian District Snack Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd. is one of the state-owned enterprises in Shaxian District, with a registered capital of 165 million yuan and state-owned assets worth more than 1 billion yuan. It is a large-scale comprehensive development group integrating operation, development and management. Shaxian Snack Group Co., Ltd. is its second-level subsidiary.

According to the official website of the Shaxian District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision,More than two months before Tong Youjian was investigated, Xu Zhenhai, deputy general manager of Shaxian District Snack Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd., was investigated on May 11 this year.

Public information shows that Xu Zhenhai was born in July 1978, has a bachelor's degree, and started working in July 2001. From October 2020 to August 2021, he served as the head of Wenchang Street Operations and Director of Operation Planning Department of Fujian Shayang Cultural Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd., and concurrently served as General Manager of Fujian Shayang Commercial Project Management Co., Ltd. and Head of Shaxian District Yubang Cultural Tourism Restaurant Branch; in August 2021, he served as Deputy General Manager of Shaxian District Snack Culture Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd.

The picture shows Xu Zhenhai's profile picture. He was investigated in May.

The reporter from The Paper noticed that during the period when Tong Youjian and Xu Zhenhai served as leaders of Shaxian District Snack Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd., the company's Party Committee had been inspected by the First Inspection Team of the Shaxian District Committee within one month from September 21 to October 21, 2022, and the inspection opinions were fed back in January 2023.

According to the "Notice on the Progress of Inspection and Rectification by the CPC Committee of Sanming Shaxian District Snack Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd." published on the official website of the Shaxian District Government, the issues reported by the inspection include: lack of learning of political theory and state-owned enterprise reform theory; poor management and operation of the group company; and inadequate implementation of the responsibility system for ideological work.

In terms of "poor management and operation of the group company", the notice mentioned "the lack of system construction in the group company", "the weak operational capabilities" and "the inadequate supervision of subsidiaries".

Rectification situation: Starting from January 2023, the group will appoint three deputy general managers to serve as general managers of three wholly-owned second-level subsidiaries, namely Shaxian Snacks Group Co., Ltd., Fujian Shayang Cultural Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd., and Shaxian Haobo Cultural and Sports Industry Development Co., Ltd., to be responsible for the specific operations of the subsidiaries. The group will also issue 2023 target responsibility letters to the five subsidiaries, select outstanding department backbones to be responsible for operation and management of the third-level subsidiaries with operating businesses, and strive to increase the group's operating income and achieve a turnaround from losses to profits.

Further reading

Xu Lei, who was investigated three times in 10 years, once claimed to be the founder of a state-owned enterprise: He was treated as an "emperor" by his subordinates

Source: Global People

Author: Chen Jiali

On July 22, the Yunnan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision announced that Xu Lei, former Party Secretary and Chairman of Yunnan Urban Construction Investment Group Co., Ltd. (Yunnan Urban Construction Investment Group Co., Ltd. for short), is suspected of major duty crimes and is currently under investigation by the Yunnan Provincial Supervision Commission.

It is worth noting that this is the third time Xu Lei has been investigated in 10 years. Prior to this, he was warned by the party in 2014 and was investigated in 2019 after being suspected of serious violations of discipline and law.

In recent years, there have been precedents of local officials being investigated for corruption twice, but it is rare for someone to be investigated three times.

As a former head of a state-owned enterprise, Xu Lei once engaged in a lot of philanthropy, bribery, and capital maneuvering between the officialdom and the business world. In 2019, he publicly confessed in the anti-corruption documentary "Hunting: Bribers Say," saying that he had fallen into a vicious circle of beauty, money, and power, and that "his conscience had really been eaten by a dog."

An insider who has extensive dealings with local state-owned enterprises in Yunnan told the Global People reporter that Xu Lei’s current title should more accurately be called “former chairman of the group” and “once he fell from grace, the company was destroyed.”

Giving out red envelopes during festivals for 10 consecutive years

The reason why Xu Lei was able to jump between officialdom and business for many years was, to a certain extent, due to the fact that he climbed up a "high branch" - Qin Guangrong, the former secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee.

Xu Lei was born in Yueyang City, Hunan Province in 1966, and later went to Yunnan to study and make a living. Qin and Xu are both from Hunan and developed in Yunnan. This background made them have a natural connection.

In 1999, Qin Guangrong, a member of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, was parachuted into Yunnan to serve as the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. At that time, Xu Lei was just a middle-level cadre in the Yunnan Construction Engineering Group. He approached Qin Guangrong as a "young fellow villager" and was attentive to him everywhere. He not only took care of all the chores in Qin Guangrong's home, but also tried his best to please Qin Guangrong's family.

Xu Lei's bribery tactics at the time were revealed in the anti-corruption warning film "Cleaning Up the Poisonous Currents - Yunnan in Action" broadcast in 2021.

For 10 consecutive years, during major festivals such as the Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, Xu Lei would give Qin Guangrong red envelopes, with a total amount of 600,000 yuan.

He also tried every means to get close to Qin Guangrong's son Qin Ling, and transferred the 5 million bribes given by illegal businessmen to Qin Ling in two installments.

In addition, he knew that Qin Guangrong's wife Huang Yulan liked all kinds of luxury goods, so he asked his family to accompany Huang Yulan to Hong Kong many times to visit major luxury hotels and shopping malls.

Qin Guangrong once commented on Xu Lei at a dinner party: "His family is rich, and he doesn't work for money, but because he wants to do something." Such comments made Xu Lei feel highly recognized.

Xu Lei said in an anti-corruption documentary that he had tried every possible means to get into Qin Guangrong's circle.

As Qin Guangrong continued to rise in Yunnan's officialdom, Xu Lei also entered the fast lane of his career.

In 2003, Qin Guangrong was appointed as the deputy secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee. Two years later, Xu Lei, who was only 39 years old, became the chairman of the newly established Yunnan Urban Investment Group. In 2007, Qin Guangrong became the governor of Yunnan Province, and in the same year, Xu Lei became the secretary of the Yunnan Urban Investment Group Party Committee.

"The heads of provincial state-owned enterprises control a lot of resources. For Xu Lei, Qin Guangrong promoted him, so he must show some 'expression'." An informed source told the Global People reporter that Xu Lei's "reward" was mainly reflected in two aspects: one was to provide convenience to Qin Guangrong's relatives and friends and related private enterprises, and the other was to provide support for Qin Guangrong's political achievements.

It is reported that Yunnan Urban Investment Group had invested in the acquisition of two real estate projects, in which Qin Guangrong's relatives and friends held shares. After the poorly managed projects were sold, Qin Guangrong's relatives and friends successfully cashed out, and Xu Lei became the "receiver".

After Qin Guangrong's son Qin Ling went to work at Huarong Group, the business dealings between Yunnan Urban Investment Group and Huarong became frequent.

The Kunming Dianchi International Convention and Exhibition Center, a provincial key project promoted by Qin Guangrong during his tenure, was built and operated by Yunnan Urban Investment. The center has an investment of more than 30 billion yuan and covers an area of ​​5.4 million square meters. It ranks third in the country and first in the southwest region. It is a typical political achievement project, but its utilization efficiency is not high after completion, and the income is lower than expected.

Since 2014, news about Qin Guangrong's possible investigation has been circulating. In October of that year, Qin Guangrong retired from the position of Secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and temporarily "landed smoothly."

One month after Qin Guangrong retired, Xu Lei "fell flat on his face" - he was given an intra-party warning by the Yunnan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection for failing to strictly follow the procedures for recommending and investigating extraordinary promotions in the selection and appointment of cadres.

In 2019, Qin Guangrong turned himself in and accepted investigation five years after his retirement. Some media reported that Qin Guangrong was implicated because his son Qin Ling was arrested, forcing him to choose to turn himself in. Just a dozen days later, Xu Lei, who had followed Qin Guangrong for many years, also chose to turn himself in.

People familiar with the matter told reporters that during Qin Guangrong's tenure as mayor of Yunnan, he had close contacts with many Hunan businessmen and officials, and it can be said that he had established "a Hunan circle of friends."

With the fall of Qin Guangrong, in addition to Xu Lei, Xiang Lili, former deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress, Xiang Jun, a Hunan businessman, Jiang Zhengjiang, a Yongzhou businessman, Zhou Zhaoda, chairman of Hunan Tongcheng Group, and Liu Zhiwei, former member of the Standing Committee of the Chenzhou Municipal Party Committee and secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, were all investigated. A huge cross-provincial circle of political and business collusion collapsed.

In 2021, Qin Guangrong was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 1.5 million yuan in the first instance.

Torn IOU

Xu Lei, who fawns on the big boss, has a different "face" within the group.

A report in "Integrity Watch" mentioned that Xu Lei was basically "a mysterious figure" in the company. "He was away on inspections for more than 20 days a month, flying all over the world. Except for a few close confidants, no one knew where he was."

After Xu Lei was brought down, the Yunnan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision issued a notice, exposing the problems of some leading cadres of Yunnan Urban Investment Group Co., Ltd. violating regulations by taking first-class flights from 2015 to 2019. It pointed out that Xu Lei violated regulations by taking first-class flights 222 times and the amount in excess of the standard exceeded 280,000 yuan.

It is said that when Xu Lei was handling matters in the group, all middle-level managers had to stand outside his office and wait to be called, sometimes for a whole day. If he found something he was not satisfied with, he would curse loudly in the office, making his subordinates tremble with fear.

There was once a promotional material of Yunnan Urban Investment Group that introduced Xu Lei as the founder of the group. It was not until someone raised an objection, "How could a state-owned enterprise have a founder?", that Xu Lei asked his subordinates to modify the material.

An insider told Global People that as the head of a state-owned enterprise, Xu Lei not only enjoys the convenience of the enterprise but also has the power of an official. He is rich and has resources. "He is almost treated like an 'emperor' by his subordinates, giving people the feeling that something bad will happen sooner or later."

In 2020, Xu Lei appeared in court for trial

He did whatever he wanted within the group, and outside the group, in order to satisfy his desire for money, Xu Lei reached out to some illegal businessmen, from borrowing money at the beginning to directly "asking for money" later.

The anti-corruption documentary mentioned Xu Lei's early interactions with Chongqing businessman Lu Yirong.

After the two met at a dinner table, Xu Lei borrowed 500,000 yuan from Lu Yirong, and agreed to repay it in half a year, but it was delayed for more than a year.

Later, Lu Yirong's business dealings with Yunnan Urban Investment became increasingly close. In order to "play the long game and catch the big fish", he directly tore up the IOU to express his "loyalty". From 2003 to 2017, Lu Yirong responded to Xu Lei's requests and transferred more than 16 million yuan in benefits to Xu Lei. In return, Xu Lei became Lu Yirong's "stepping stone", giving him the green light and convenience in the project.

"After you ask for money, you definitely owe that person a favor, and you have to find a way to repay it, by transferring benefits to him or helping him," Xu Lei said in the documentary.

Where did Xu Lei use the huge amount of money he obtained through illegal channels?

"First of all, I have a desire for money. The reason for this desire is that I have to deal with women, a huge network of relationships and expenses. I have to maintain these relationships and hold up this big facade. In many things, I want to save face and have to be loyal, which led to the situation that followed," Xu Lei said later.

It is reported that in order to satisfy his vanity, Xu Lei spent huge sums of money to build a winery and a cigar house, and often hosted banquets in these places.

"Step by step, after the screw of beauty loosened, the screw of money loosened, and finally the screw of power loosened," Xu Lei said in the documentary.

After the transformation of the city investment into health tourism

Xu Lei was in charge of Yunnan Urban Investment for 12 years from 2007 to 2019. During this period, Yunnan Urban Investment rapidly expanded through mergers and acquisitions, and its business scope covered real estate, cultural tourism, travel, finance, semiconductors and other fields.

Some media commented that Yunnan Urban Investment during Xu Lei's tenure "did not seem like a local state-owned enterprise, but more like a ferocious capital consortium."

At its core, Xu Lei is well versed in capital operations.

There are two well-known acquisition cases in Yunnan Urban Investment’s M&A journey.

Another example is that in 2016 and 2018, Yunnan Urban Investment spent a total of 4.4 billion yuan in two transactions to acquire eight Yintai companies under Shen Guojun, chairman of China Yintai Group. This series of mergers and acquisitions made Yunnan Urban Investment famous.

Another case was in 2017, when Yunnan Urban Investment Group planned to acquire Chengdu Global Century Exhibition Tourism Group Co., Ltd. in its entirety, with the transaction price set at 23.6 billion yuan. At that time, the market value of Yunnan Urban Investment Group was only 5 billion yuan. This acquisition, which was called "a snake swallowing an elephant" by the outside world, attracted the attention and intervention of regulators, and eventually fell through.

Xu Lei, who has always pursued the "buy, buy, buy" strategy, has a growing appetite.

Xu Lei had reached an agreement with Liu Hesheng, the former party secretary of Yueyang City, to take over the Yueyang Tower scenic area. This news caused dissatisfaction among some Yueyang citizens. Someone posted on a local forum in Yueyang, saying that Xu Lei "had some money and wanted to return home in glory." After Xu Lei surrendered, Liu Hesheng was "double-opened" in 2021.

Yunnan Urban Investment Group once expanded through large-scale mergers and acquisitions

Behind the large-scale acquisition is the soaring debt scale of Yunnan Urban Investment Group.

Public data shows that from 2009 to 2018, the total assets of Yunnan Urban Investment Group increased from 23.444 billion yuan to 295.650 billion yuan. During the corresponding period, the total liabilities increased from 16.01 billion yuan to 226.424 billion yuan, and the asset-liability ratio once approached 80%.

After Xu Lei voluntarily surrendered himself in 2019, the high debt and the shock of senior management put Yunnan Urban Investment Group into a precarious state. In April of the following year, the Yunnan Provincial Government held a symposium and decided to build Yunnan Urban Investment Group into a leading enterprise focusing on cultural tourism and health services. Half a year later, Yunnan Urban Investment Group was officially renamed Yunnan Kanglv Holding Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yunnan Kanglv").

Just like that, more than a year after Xu Lei was brought down, the group changed its course, Yunnan Urban Investment became history, and only the stock name "Yunnan Urban Investment" was retained.

"Yunnan Urban Investment was basically on the verge of collapse at that time, but the Yunnan Provincial Government saved it through asset restructuring, and thus Yunnan Kanglv was established. This was once promoted as a relatively successful restructuring case." A person familiar with the matter told reporters.

However, the insider also learned that if another company like Yunnan Urban Investment Group gets into trouble, "the government will not intervene again."

Putting aside its main business of real estate, how much room does Yunnan Kanglv have for development?

In order to ease the financial pressure, Yunnan Kanglv has frequently sold assets in recent years, including the equity of dozens of Yintai commercial projects and hotels that it had previously acquired. Despite this, the group's operating conditions have not improved significantly.

In 2021, Yunnan.com reported that Yunnan Kanglv put the equity of 16 of its project companies on the shelf, of which 5 stocks were transferred at a price of 1 yuan. That year, many media reported that Yunnan Kanglv's holdings in listed companies were facing the risk of delisting. On July 26 this year, Yunnan Chengtou's share price closed at 1.88 yuan, becoming a "1 yuan stock" again. It can be seen that 5 years after the asset restructuring, Yunnan Kanglv is still facing difficulties on the road to transformation.

Now Xu Lei has come into people's attention again because of his "third investigation". The "missing crimes" mentioned in the notice have aroused attention. In 2020, Xu Lei was suspected of bribery, bribery, and abuse of power by state-owned company personnel. After the first trial, there was no verdict. Now that the procuratorate has discovered the missing crimes, Xu Lei may face additional prosecution.

The net of heaven is vast and wide, and nothing can escape it. Xu Lei's love of power and greed for money has trapped him in his own trap, and he has ruined more than just himself.