Mystery surrounds tycoon's rescue from home invasion

Mystery still surrounds the rescue of the billionaire founder of Midea Group after a home invasion in Foshan.

Police said they received a report on Sunday night that a private villa had been broken into and that the lives of the residents were threatened.

They eventually rescued He Xiangjian, 78, and arrested five suspects yesterday. No one was injured.

He founded appliance maker Midea in 1992 and stepped down as its chairman in 2012, but he continues to be its controlling shareholder.

The 2020 Hurun Global Rich List ranked him as the world's 41st richest person with an estimated wealth of 182 billion yuan (HK$199 billion).

Midea thanked police and the public for their concern in its Weibo account, where users continue to speculate on He's situation.

China Global Television Network said Foshan police received a call which claimed that people broke into a private home in Junlan International Golf Life Village.

The village is a high-end villa developed by Midea Real Estate Group in 2005. He's residence is a riverside villa facing south with a backdoor that overlooks the headquarters of Midea four kilometers away. Some bloggers claimed He's family called police after managing to free themselves from suspects and jumping into the river.

By yesterday, security forces at the village had been beefed up and staff checked people in vehicles in and out of the village.

The company's shares fell 1.6 percent at the start of trading yesterday and about 7 billion yuan was wiped from its market value.

When He stepped down as chairman, he was replaced by professional manager Fang Hongbo. A year later, he made it into the Forbes list of China's top 10 richest people.

He holds a 31.60 percent stake in Midea Group through Midea Holdings.

Since August 2012, He has served as an independent director of Midea Group.

In 2019, the company posted an operating income of 278.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year gain of 7.14 percent, with net profit surging 19.68 percent to reach 24.2 billion yuan.