Beijing has fired the founder and chairman of one of the mainland's biggest pharmaceutical firms, in what could be seen as a warning to state company chiefs to obey orders and keep within budget as the government moves to cool the fast-growing economy.
The Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post said officials from the Guangdong and Shenzhen governments went to the headquarters of the state-owned Sanjiu Group and told staff that Zhao Xinxian had been fired.
A Sanjiu Enterprises Group executive yesterday confirmed that Mr Zhao, a former doctor in the People's Liberation Army, had been removed from the firm he set up. Deputy general manager Sun Xiaomin will take over as the group's party secretary and president.
Mr Zhao started the firm after borrowing five million yuan in 1985 and turned it into a 10 billion yuan conglomerate.
The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) sacked Mr Zhao, the Sanjiu executive said, adding that, at 64, he was due for retirement. The executive rejected claims that Mr Zhou had been detained over the group's stockpile of debt and disappointing performance over the past few years.
'This is untrue,' the executive said. 'He was removed due to his old age.'
However, mainland media said Mr Zhao was fired because the group could not pay its debts and the government and state banks had lost patience.
