【Epoch Times News March 21, 2025】Beijing WenTou Group and its listed company WenTou Holdings have been embroiled in corruption scandals in recent years. The former party secretary and chairman of WenTou Holdings, Zhou Maofei, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption and bribery. WenTou Holdings had previously tied up resources with many celebrities, with its peak stock price reaching 26.62 yuan (RMB, the same below). During Zhou Maofei’s 4 and a half years in office, the company accumulated losses of 5.1 billion yuan. In 2024, it was warned of delisting risks and entered into a restructuring process.
On March 20, Zhou Maofei, former party secretary and chairman of Beijing Cultural Investment Development Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Beijing WenTou Group”), was sentenced for corruption and bribery. Zhou Maofei was sentenced to serve 17 years in prison for the crimes of corruption and bribery.
Public information shows that Beijing WenTou Group was established in December 2012, authorized by the Beijing Municipal Government and is a wholly state-owned company and a first-level enterprise at the municipal level. Its core assets include WenTou Holdings (600715). The company has established commercial partnerships through its subsidiary Yaolai Cinemas with well-known artists like Kris Wu. Additionally, Feng Xiaogang, Zhang Guoli, Li Bingbing, and Huang Xiaoming have indirectly held shares in the company.
Zhou Maofei was appointed as chairman of WenTou Holdings in January 2018, during his tenure, the company incurred consecutive annual losses, accumulating a total of 5.1 billion yuan in losses over 4 and a half years, with a single-year loss of 3.51 billion yuan in 2020.
In July 2022, Zhou Maofei was investigated and subsequently resigned from his position. In April 2023, he was reported for serious violations and accused of impeding inspections, interfering with state-owned enterprise investments, unlawfully entering private clubs, illegally seizing public assets, and accepting substantial bribes from others.
According to public information, Zhou Maofei had previously served as party secretary of the Beijing Municipal Government’s State-Owned Cultural Assets Management Office, deputy secretary and district head of the Shijingshan District Committee of Beijing, deputy director and party member of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal Government, and deputy general manager of Beijing Instruments & Meters Industrial Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd.
The internal management of Beijing WenTou Group was chaotic, with many senior executives involved in corruption scandals. In March 2020, Dai Zigeng, former deputy party secretary and general manager of Beijing WenTou Group, was expelled from the party. In March 2022, another former general manager of Beijing WenTou Group, Zhao Lei, was investigated and reported for serious violations in April 2023.
The stock price of WenTou Holdings had reached its peak of 26.62 yuan in September 2016, but subsequently deteriorated significantly, leading to massive losses. On April 29, 2024, it received a delisting risk warning (*ST). In October of the same year, the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court accepted the application for reorganization by the company’s creditors, and on November 25th, approved the “Reorganization Plan of WenTou Holdings Co., Ltd.”, officially terminating the company’s restructuring process.