Furious Chinese investors have raided a hotel, kidnapped the head of a Chinese metals exchange and handed him over to local police, reports said.
Hundreds of angry vigilantes swarmed a luxury Shanghai hotel and seized Fanya Metals founder Shan Jiuliang as he checked out around dawn on Saturday, The Financial Times reported.
The Fanya exchange's recent issues have contributed to recent turbulence in the Chinese economy, The Times said. China's troubles have sparked turmoil in the global financial markets.
Investors were braced for another volatile day today as Asian stocks struggled over fears the fresh interest rate cuts in China would not be enough to stabilise its slowing economy.
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As Fanya founder Shan Jiuliang attempted to check out from a Shanghai hotel, he was set upon by several men and women
Mr Jiuliang was dragged to a waiting vehicle and then dumped at a nearby police station. Investors are demanding police investigate
The FTSE 100 index opened down by more than one per cent this morning, bringing on another 'white-knuckle' day as China's stimulus measures failed to spark a sustained rally.
Chinese, Hong Kong and Japanese markets had earlier opened lower and then slightly recovered.
The Chinese benchmark Shanghai Composite Index – the source of much angst during recent volatility – fell by 3.6 per cent in early trading but bounced back to gain 0.8 per cent to 2,988.76 by the midday break. It closed down by one per cent.
Pictures uploaded to social media website Weibo show several men and women manhandling Mr Jiuliang and bundling him into a waiting vehicle
In one photograph, he is seen lying on the floor of the hotel, surrounded by the rogue investors, many who reportedly flew in to Shanghai from distant parts of the country.
A distressed Mr Jiuliang was then carted to the nearest police station, The Times said, where Fanya's financial backers demanded police investigate what has happened to their money.
The investors are reportedly upset because they are unable to access funds they put into Ri Jin Bao, one of the company's derivative products, according to Quartz.
Investors were promised their monies could be withdrawn at any time - but Fanya has frozen the funds since April.
In this social media picture, Mr Jiuliang is seen splayed over the floor of the hotel as the vigilantes swoop
Protesters recently rallied outside Mr Jiuliang's hotel as well as the company's headquarters
Quartz reported the capture plan had been hatched on messaging apps and social media sites, such as Weibo.
Police promised to investigate and Mr Jiuliang was eventually released without charge, according to The Times' account.
Fanya denounced the surprise raid as a 'violent act' in a statement issued on the company's website, saying the vigilante action was 'destructive of our work around solving the crisis'.
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