Meituan Sinks as CEO Deletes Post Seen Critical of Beijing
- Wang Xing had shared poem about Qin dynasty book burning
- The food delivery company is facing regulatory scrutiny
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Meituan’s stock plunged to a seven-month low after the Chinese e-commerce company’s billionaire chief executive officer shared and then deleted a poem on social media that some interpreted as a veiled criticism of Beijing.
The food delivery giant fell almost 10% in Hong Kong before closing 7.1% lower to wipe out about $16 billion. Wang Xing posted a classical poem about book burning by the emperor during the Qin dynasty on social media platform Fanfou.com, according to the Hong Kong Economic Times. He deleted it on Sunday and issued a clarification that he used the poem in reference to the company’s competitors. A Meituan spokesperson confirmed both posts and declined to comment further.