Last year, mainland China’s well-known singer Hu Haiquan, who took on the role as the Dean of the Nanhai Music Institute at the private college Haikou School of Economics, was recently warned by the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau regarding his affiliated private equity fund company.
On April 23, the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau took administrative supervision measures by issuing warning letters to four private equity fund companies. Among them, Qianxiang Haiquan Investment and Beijing Haina Baiquan Investment are both private equity fund companies under the name of the famous singer Hu Haiquan.
In the warning letters, the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau pointed out that Qianxiang Haiquan Investment did not fulfill its duties of honesty, trustworthiness, prudence, and diligence in managing and using the assets of private equity funds. On the other hand, Haina Baiquan Investment had two violations: firstly, it did not fulfill its duties of honesty, trustworthiness, prudence, and diligence in managing and utilizing the assets of private equity funds, and secondly, it did not evaluate the risk identification and risk-bearing abilities of investors during the fund-raising period.
On the afternoon of April 24, “Haina Baiquan” issued a statement on Weibo responding, “The warning content had completed self-examination and rectification under the guidance of the regulatory authorities before 2017 and passed the acceptance. It did not cause any losses to any investors, and the fund is currently operating healthily and normally.”
In fact, this is not the first time that Hu Haiquan’s private equity fund under his name has been penalized. In June 2023, the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau took similar administrative supervision measures against Beijing Haina Baiquan Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd.
Of note, despite still being listed as the legal representative and chairman of Haina Baiquan Investment according to the information from the China Private Equity Association, in terms of shareholding, “Qichacha” shows that he had exited in February 2022, and the major shareholder of Haina Baiquan is currently in a restricted high consumption state.
At the age of 49, Hu Haiquan, who was once the lead singer and keyboardist of the music group “Yu Quan” established in 1998, gained rapid fame through the group’s vocal skills, harmonies, and original works such as “Most Beautiful” and “Rainbow”. Their first album sold over a million copies, and their reputation lasted for 20 years. Unexpectedly, another member of the “Yu Quan” group, Chen Yu Fan, was detained by the police for drug abuse, leading to a decline in the group’s popularity and eventual obscurity.
With the trend of more celebrity investors venturing into the business world to leverage their fame and economic accumulations from the entertainment industry in recent years, Hu Haiquan, who had entered business early, has faced repeated freezing of his shares since 2023, starting with 1 million yuan, followed by another freeze of 300,000 yuan, and then continuing with a freeze of 1.15 million yuan, accumulating a total of 2.45 million yuan.
On May 15 last year, the official website of the “Haikou School of Economics” in Hainan, China announced a cooperation and joint signing ceremony between the school and “Hainan Junzhan Culture Media Co., Ltd.” to establish the Nanhai Music Institute, with the renowned musician Hu Haiquan in attendance and appointed as the Dean of the Nanhai Music Institute. This news sparked discussions, with many netizens questioning why a celebrity would focus on school-related matters.
According to the information, the Haikou School of Economics is a private college with a history tracing back to the establishment of the Haikou Amateur University in 1974, evolving into the Haikou Vocational University and the Haikou School of Economics and Technical College. The Nanhai Music Institute is one of the current 16 secondary colleges within the school.
At that time, the school introduced Hu Haiquan as a Chinese male singer, music producer, angel investor, and member of the music group “Yu Quan”. He had served as a mentor on music programs such as “China New Sound,” “Most Beautiful Harmony,” and “China Good Songs,” and participated in variety shows like “I Am a Singer,” “The Big Brother Who Clears Thorns,” and “Day Day Up”. Some of his notable works include “Most Beautiful,” “Love Romance,” and “Moonlight.”