Fosun to sue Bloomberg for 'misleading' report

The chairman of the Chinese consumer group Fosun, Guo Guangchang, said on Weibo on Thursday that the group will sue Bloomberg for its report claiming that Chinese regulators had asked banks to examine their financial exposure to Fosun.

Bloomberg reported on September 13 that "Chinese authorities have told the nation's biggest banks and state-owned firms to start a round of checks on their financial exposure to Fosun."

The report, citing people familiar with the matter, claimed that the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission had told commercial banks to check their exposure to Fosun debt and understand potential liquidity risks.

Guo said in his statement that the report seriously deviated from the facts. After being widely disseminated at home and abroad, it seriously misled investors and had a significant impact on the normal operation and reputation of Fosun.

"The false report and infringements by Bloomberg have seriously hurt Fosun ... Fosun will formally file a lawsuit against the publication, resolutely pursue its legal responsibility, and resolutely defend all legal rights and interests of Fosun," Guo said in the statement.

Shares of Fosun International closed down 4.11 percent in Hong Kong on Tuesday, wiping off 15 percent of its value since September 2. It closed down 6.94 percent on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Guo said he had just returned to Shanghai after spending months overseas on business trips and that he was happy to see that many of Fosun's overseas businesses were in a better state after the pandemic, while some of them had achieved rapid growth during the pandemic.

"I have always believed that globalization is in the common interest of all mankind, and Fosun's competitiveness lies in its vision and capabilities of globalization. More importantly, as an enterprise rooted in China, China will always be the most important base for Fosun," Guo said. "In the future, I hope Fosun can realize high-speed growth in both global and domestic markets."

Founded in 1992 in Shanghai, Fosun is a global innovation-driven consumer group dedicated to providing high-quality products and services for families around the world in health, happiness, wealth and intelligent manufacturing segments, according to its official website.

In 2007, Fosun International Limited was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In 2021, Fosun International's total revenue was 161.3 billion yuan (US$23.13 billion) and total assets amounted to 806.4 billion yuan. Fosun International ranks No.589 on the 2022 Forbes Global 2000 List, with a MSCI ESG rating of AA.