The US Department of the Treasury announced last Friday (April 24th) the sanctions imposed on China’s “teapot” refinery, Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refining and Chemical Company, resulting in a reduction of approximately $1.4 billion in the wealth of Chen Jianhua and his wife Fan Hongwei.
Chen Jianhua and his wife Fan Hongwei have jointly built Hengli Group into one of China’s largest energy companies.
According to Bloomberg, prior to the sanctions imposed by the United States, the fluctuations in oil prices due to the Iran war had temporarily boosted the wealth of Chen Jianhua and his wife. However, after the core asset of Hengli Petrochemical, the Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refining and Chemical Company, was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury, the couple’s wealth quickly plummeted.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows that the sanctions caused Hengli Petrochemical’s stock to plummet by 10% on Monday, leading to a decrease of around $1.4 billion in the wealth of Fan Hongwei and Chen Jianhua. Fan Hongwei’s net assets are currently $7.7 billion, while Chen Jianhua’s are $7.3 billion. This decline erased approximately half of their net asset growth for this year.
When the US Department of the Treasury issued the sanctions announcement on April 24th, it stated that Chinese “teapot” refineries continue to play a crucial role in maintaining Iran’s oil economy. These refineries purchase most of Iran’s crude oil, providing significant revenue to the Iranian regime and its military. Hengli, China’s second-largest “teapot” refinery, is one of the largest buyers of Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products, purchasing billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil products. The statement also mentioned that at least since 2023, Hengli has been receiving Iranian oil shipments through a series of sanctioned “shadow fleet” vessels.
On April 26th, Hengli Petrochemical released a statement asserting that the company has never engaged in any trade with Iran, and its crude oil suppliers have pledged and guaranteed that the origin of the supplied crude oil is not subject to US sanctions. The US sanctions lack factual and legal basis.
According to Bloomberg, Harry Yu, Senior Partner of Fung Yu Trust Services (Hong Kong) Ltd., a trust and family office consultancy, stated, “For many private industrial families, such circumstances highlight the deep interweaving of their businesses, capital, and geopolitical risks.”
“In this sense, family businesses now face a more delicate balance: maintaining business relationships and scale while dealing with growing geopolitical and compliance risks,” Yu added.
Fan Hongwei serves as the “public face” of the Hengli business empire. Hengli is one of China’s largest private oil refining companies. She currently serves as the Chairwoman of Hengli Petrochemical, while her husband Chen Jianhua is the Chairman of the parent company, Hengli Group.
The sanctions imposed by the US Treasury on Hengli Petrochemical’s subsidiary casts a new shadow over next month’s visit of US President Trump to China and his meeting with the Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping.