Meituan, one of China's largest tech companies, saw its shares tumble after it's CEO published a 1000-year old poem online.
CEO Wang Xing published a poem that was merely 28 characters long, but its contents provoked many old-school players in China's tech industry.
Key Highlights
- Meituan CEO, Wang Xing, published a controversial 1000-year old poem online that seemingly "rattled" the tech industry and country regulators.
- While the ancient poem was just 28 characters long, it cost the company $26 billion (and $2.5 billion to CEO Wang Xing) after its shares fell.
- Wang Xing has been a fan of literature and shared that the ancient poem was something that saddened him about China's evolving business landscape.
- CEO Wang Xing later took down his post, but Meituan's shares had already fallen.
Why It Matters
- China's anti-trust regulators have rolled out a series of new laws to govern internet companies — affecting giants such as Meituan, Alibaba, and Tencent.
- Meituan is still growing at an astounding pace, encroaching deeper into Alibaba, Tencent, and even DiDi's markets.
- Meituan recently raised $10 billion last month to fight competitors more aggressively.
