Fosun Group's small loan company was reported for being unresponsive and a shell company, and the related company Shangmeng Payment Mall's withholding business was just abruptly halted.

Recently, the Shanghai Local Financial Supervision Bureau announced a new list of “disconnected” and “shell” local financial organizations. Among them are three microloan companies: Shanghai Yangpu Lankun Microloan Co., Ltd., Shanghai Hongkou Guangxin Microloan Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Hongkou Guangxin Microloan”), and Shanghai Hongkou North Bund Microloan Co., Ltd.

Hongkou Guangxin Microloan has a prestigious shareholder background. Fosun Group holds a combined 50% stake through Shanghai Fosun High Technology (Group) Co., Ltd. (40%) and Shanghai Fosun Industrial Technology Development Co., Ltd. (10%). Fuchun Holding Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Fuchun Group”) owns 30%, and Shanghai Fengshi Asset Management Co., Ltd. owns 20%.

Business registration information shows that Hongkou Guangxin Microloan was established in September 2015 with a registered capital of 200 million yuan. The chairman is Gu Xiaoxu, founder of Fosun Financial Technology Business Fosun Fintech. He also serves as a director of Zhejiang Webank. He previously held positions as legal representative and chairman of Fosun Group’s other microloan company, Guangzhou Fosun Yuntong Microloan Co., Ltd., and licensed payment institution Zhejiang Shangmeng Payment Co., Ltd. (“Shangmeng Payment”).

It is worth noting that Hongkou Guangxin Microloan has multiple records of shareholder share freezes, all originating from Fuchun Group.

Public information shows that on July 28, 2025, the Hangzhou Fuyang District People’s Court in Zhejiang Province ruled to implement substantive merger reorganization for Fuchun Group and 69 other companies, including Hangzhou Zhangxiaoquan Group Co., Ltd., and appointed a manager. The relevant announcement indicates that Zhangxiaoquan Group and other entities previously entered reorganization procedures due to debt issues, with the court accepting the application and advancing creditor claims and related work.

Fuchun Group is the controlling shareholder of Zhangxiaoquan. Since 2024, news about debt disputes, share freezes, and asset disposals involving Fuchun Holdings and its actual controller, the Zhang brothers, has been continuously reported. As one of its few high-quality listed assets, Zhangxiaoquan has become a core pledge and cash source in this capital crisis.

Fuchun Group, founded in the 1990s by Zhang Guobiao and others, is a diversified enterprise group mainly engaged in supply chain, logistics industrial parks, and industrial investment. Its deep entanglement with Zhangxiaoquan began around 2010. At that time, Fuchun Group started implementing its “Old Brand Revival Plan,” attempting to revitalize traditional brands through capital integration. However, in subsequent operations, Fuchun Group’s diversification strategy gradually deviated from its original purpose, expanding into logistics parks, health and wellness real estate, and pre-made food industrial parks.

On the other hand, according to reports from Shanxi Evening News and other media, Gu Xiaoxu’s responsible company, Shangmeng Payment, was subject to special regulatory inspection in early February for long-term violations and disguised high-interest lending. Its “Tongtong Pay” mall deduction business was urgently halted.

Investigation shows that Shangmeng Payment colluded with high-interest online lending platforms, using covert methods such as forced shopping and inflated service fees to charge “cutting-head interest,” causing the actual annualized interest rate for users to soar up to 1,351%, far exceeding the current judicial protection limit of 100% for private lending interest rates. All this occurred after nearly 10 million yuan in fines and confiscations and multiple promises of “comprehensive rectification.”

A year ago, in November 2024, Shangmeng Payment received its largest fine to date. It was warned, had illegal gains confiscated, and was fined nearly 5.4 million yuan for violations related to reserve fund management, account management, and clearing management, among five core regulations. Three responsible senior executives were also fined and warned.