Retail investors with exposure to Chinese conglomerate Zhongzhi sought to lodge formal complaints with authorities in Beijing on Wednesday in a sign of growing alarm over a liquidity crisis across the group’s many businesses.Zhongzhi, a sprawling financial enterprise with an estimated Rmb1tn ($137bn) under management, is at the centre of fears that a property and wider economic slowdown in China is now feeding through into the country’s vast and highly opaque savings industry.
Last week, Zhongrong, an investment company partly owned by Zhongzhi, missed payments on several products, according to disclosures from listed companies, prompting investors to question other Shanghai and Shenzhen-listed businesses on their exposure.
Meanwhile, Zhongzhi’s wealth management businesses missed payments on products over recent weeks, according to multiple retail investors who spoke to the Financial Times.