Top Chinese research firm CEBM halts operations amid ‘nuclear winter’ in securities sector
- Firm that serves top mutual-fund houses puts all employees on unpaid leave amid a Beijing crackdown on illegal behaviours and extravagance
CEO Qu Chen of the Shanghai-based consultancy told employees in a letter that they would all be placed on unpaid leave until the company can wade through the current turbulence. He did not give a timeline.
“The company has to make this hard decision to reduce costs,” he said in the letter dated August 5, which was seen by the Post. “Urgent actions must be taken to help us survive the ‘nuclear winter’ because some of the brokerage clients are unable to clear their accounts payable.”
“CEBM became the victim to a chain of bad reactions as the asset-management and brokerage industries took a beating from a slowing economy and a beleaguered stock market,” said Ivan Li, a fund manager at Loyal Wealth Management in Shanghai. “Business morale among securities industry employees appears to be low, and it will take some time before the fund managers, analysts and traders regain their confidence in the A-share market.”
CEBM could not be reached for comment.
