Chinese celebs hit hard by stock market turmoil
Some Chinese celebrities hit hard by China's stock market turmoil
It was a horrendous beginning to the new year for the Chinese stock market.
Fresh evidence of China's economic slowdown sent stock markets around the world tumbling.
Almost everyone took a massive hit. Some Chinese movie stars were not spared either, Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post reported.
They have taken a hard hit amid the ongoing financial turmoil as the value of their equity investments shrinks.
Zhao Wei, who starred in the recent movie hit, Lost In Hong Kong, holds 1.67 billion shares with her husband Huang Youlong in Hong Kong-listed Alibaba Pictures.
It is the film production arm of Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba Group owned by billionaire Jack Ma.
With the price of the stock falling 5.7 per cent this week, the couple saw the value of their investment shrink by HK$184 million (S$34 million), the report said.
But the actress had slightly better luck in the Chinese market.
She made some gains in Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Talent Television & Film.
Her 1.17 million shares in the company increased by 2.75 million yuan (S$600,000) in value during the topsy-turvy week, helping her to stay afloat.
INVESTMENT
Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming saw the value of his investment in Shenzhen listed Huayi Brothers go down this week.
He holds 3.6 million shares in the entertainment company, which saw its share price close on Friday at 34.36 yuan, down 16.92 per cent for the week.
As a result, his fortune dropped by 25.72 million yuan.
But it was not all doom and gloom for the stars who dabble in the financial markets.
Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, who has 1.29 million shares in Zhejiang Talent Television & Film, saw her fortunes in the company rise by 3 million yuan so far this year.
Chinese markets were suspended for the second day on Thursday during the first week of the year after they fell more than 7 per cent, AFP reported.
It led to an Asia-wide sell-off as Beijing weakened the value of the yuan by the most since August.
Trading was called off within just 30 minutes of opening after the central bank weakened the value of the yuan by 0.51 per cent against the US dollar.
The yuan is now at its weakest in five years.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now