Police investigating China home electronics tycoon

Beijing  - A consumer electronics tycoon reputed to be China's wealthiest person is under investigation for white collar crimes, the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday.

Billionaire Huang Guangyu, head of the country's largest electronics retail chain, has been in detention since last week, newspaper reports said. Police would only confirm that he is under investigation.

According to unconfirmed reports, Huang is accused of manipulating shares of a Shanghai pharmaceutical company controlled by his older brother.

Huang, 39, whose personal wealth is estimated at 6.3 billion dollars, owns the Gome Electrical Appliances chain, which has 1,300 outlets in more than 300 cities with
300,000 employees. Huang is also a real estate investor.

Shares in the Hong Kong-listed Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd were suspended Monday ahead of the scheduled release of third-quarter results.

The company said Monday that its net profits rose 111 per cent in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period a year earlier to 1.59 billion yuan (227 million dollars), Xinhua reported. (dpa)

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