China's self-made fashion tycoon and business magnet, Zhou Chengjian, 51, has mysteriously disappeared prompting the Shanghai-based company he founded - Metersbonwe, the Chinese equivalent of H&M to suspend trading of its shares on the Chinese stock market.
According to the Daily Mail, the entrepreneur reported to be worth 26 billion Yuan ($ 3 billion) has been missing since Jan. 6. Chengjian's disappearance comes hot on the heels of another Chinese billionaire business figure, Guo Guangchang, who also went missing less than a month ago.
Guangchang who is known in the local business industry as the Chinese equivalent of Warren Buffet is reported to have gone missing on Dec. 10 , 2015. Chinese media quoting stock market insiders claim Police arrested Chengjian and led him away on the day that he was last seen in public.
In a statement obtained by the British publication, Metersbonwe said following the disappearance of its founder, the company announced the decision to suspend trading shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange adding that it was acting in accordance to regulations set by the Stock Exchange.
The statement also claimed that presently the board secretary was unavailable for comment. It is reported that Chengjian is China's 62nd richest man. Born to a farming family in a small village community in east China, he started his career in the apparel industry as a local tailor and then went on to found Metersbonwe in 1995.
The company is a prominent figure in the local clothing industry despite its unusual English sounding brand name. The name itself was created using Chinese characters, intended to sound foreign to local Chinese consumers, media reports claimed.
According to the Straits Times, the company which specializes in inexpensive clothing for young people has nearly 5,000 franchises across the country. However, the publication revealed that industry experts allege that Chinese authorities are targeting the financial sector as part of an anti-graft campaign with many business tycoons taken in for disciplinary violations.
More recently the Metersbonwe company sought to build international recognition with actor Shia LaBeouf seen wearing a Metersbonwe t-shirt in the third installment of the "Transformers" movie in 2011.
While Metersbonwe has claimed that it is investigating the disappearance of its chairman, at present no statement regarding his disappearance has been issued by the local authorities or the Chinese police.
Watch the video highlighting the brand value of Metersbonwe below
