Michael Forsythe, Chinese Tycoon Defends Xi’s Relatives, and Himself, on Business Deal. New York Times, Oct 31, 2015.
Quote:
(a) "In defending the company’s ties with Mr Xi’s relatives, Mr Wang [Jianlin] may have inadvertently drawn attention to a common practice among wealthy and powerful Chinese people: the transfer of shares, sometimes to distant relatives or business associates, to mask business interests.
"Corporate records show that Ms Qi [Qiaoqiao 习近平的姐姐 齐桥桥] and Mr Deng [Jiagui 邓家贵] transferred ownership of the holding company to an employee in October 2013. Mr Wang said they had sold their stake two months before the I.P.O., which would have been October 2014.
"If true, his statement suggested that Ms Qi and Mr Deng still somehow owned the shares after they had, on paper, been transferred to the employee.
"Wanda’s pre-IPO documents show that the holding company, Qinchuan Dadi Investment 北京秦川大地投资有限公司, held shares in Wanda as of mid-August 2014.
"It is not clear from available public records whether the holding company sold the shares [ie, can not prove or disprove Wang Jianlin's remarks at Harvard Open Forum]. At the end of 2013, the holding company listed three companies that it held stakes in, including Dalian Wanda. In its 2014 annual report, the company did not list any investments.
"The holding company was still listed on Friday as being owned by the employee, Xu Zaisheng 徐再生.
(b) "When property is transferred on paper to hide its ownership, the new putative owner is known in China as a 'white glove.' "
My comment: Hopefully, you can understand the tricky issues here. VOA Chinese made the emphasis so that we can comprehend the NYT report, whose points you may otherwise miss.