Hanlong Group (汉龙集团) was a Chinese business conglomerate based in Sichuan Province with past holdings in solar energy, communications, chemicals, and mineral exploration. It became internationally known for its investments in Africa and its dramatic collapse following a major corruption scandal.
Hanlong’s publicly listed subsidiary was Sichuan Hongda Co., Ltd. (四川宏达股份有限公司; ), which remains listed on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange
The Shanghai Stock Exchange (, SSE) is a stock exchange based in the city of Shanghai, China. It is one of the three stock exchanges operating independently in mainland China, the others being the Beijing Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock ...
.
International Projects
In Tanzania, Hongda signed a US$3 billion deal in 2011 for coal and iron mining, marking one of the largest Chinese investments in East Africa at the time.
The investment included plans to develop a 600MW coal-fired power plant at Mchuchuma and Katewaka via a joint venture called Tanzania China International Mineral Resources (TCIMR).
In Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, Hanlong led negotiations with the Cameroonian government on the Mining Convention for the Mbalam-Nabeba Iron Ore Project. The deal involved Hanlong’s attempted takeover of Australia's
Sundance Resources
Sundance Resources Limited is an Australian mining company, based in Perth, Western Australia, whose main assets are iron ore leases in Cameroon near Mbalam, and across the border in the Republic of Congo. Following the loss of the Congo mining l ...
to gain control of the transborder project. However, the acquisition fell through in 2013 after Hanlong failed to fulfill financing obligations.
Downfall and Dissolution
In 2014, Hanlong's chairman Liu Han was charged with murder and running a mafia-style criminal enterprise. His organization was said to have operated with the protection of former Chinese Politburo Standing Committee member
Zhou Yongkang
Zhou Yongkang (; born December 3, 1942) is a former senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (2007–2012) elected Zhou to be one of the nine members of the 17th Politburo ...
. Liu Han was sentenced to death and executed in February 2015.
In a separate incident Calvin Zhu, vice president of Hanlong’s Australian subsidiary, was sentenced in 2013 to 15 months in prison for insider trading related to the Sundance deal.
Following these events, Hanlong Group was effectively dissolved, with most of its projects discontinued or transferred.
References
External links
Hanlong Group homepage (archived)
{{Coal companies of China
Companies based in Sichuan
Organized crime in China
Defunct companies of China