Huang Guangyu, China's home appliance tycoon, is under investigation for involvement in "economic crimes," confirmed Beijing police on Thursday. (Xinhua File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

 　BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Huang Guangyu, China's home appliance tycoon, is under investigation for involvement in "economic crimes," confirmed Beijing police on Thursday.

    Company spokesman He Yangqing said Gome will respond to the news on Monday afternoon.

    Huang, 39, whose personal wealth is estimated at 43 billion yuan, is the richest man on the mainland, according to the 2008 Hurun Rich list.

    The appliance chain has 1,300 outlets in more than 300 Chinese cities with 300,000 employees. Huang is also a real estate investor.

    Shares in his company, the Hong Kong-listed Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd., were suspended on Monday ahead of the scheduled release of third-quarter results.

    In its third-quarter results, released on Monday, the company said net profits rose 111 percent year-on-year in the first nine months to 1.59 billion yuan (about 227 million U.S. dollars).

    Gross profit increased 28 percent to 3.57 billion yuan while operating revenue hit 36.4 billion yuan, up 20 percent, the company said.

Chinese mainland richest man under police probe

    BEIJING, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Huang Guangyu, China's home appliance tycoon, is under police investigation for stock market manipulation, according to local media.

    His company, the Hong Kong-listed Gome company was expected to suspend trading on Monday, the Beijing News reports. The company was scheduled to issue its third-quarter financial report on Monday. Full story