By staff reporters Yu Ning, Yang Haipeng, Qiao Xiaohui, Shen Hu

Wei Dong, Chairman of Yongjn Group, committed suicide on April 29, several sources close to Wei told Caijing.

Unconfirmed information said Wei jumped off a building. A letter Wei’s relatives provided to Sina.com on May 1 pointed to medical conditions that resulted in the entrepreneur’s death, reported by local media.

 Wei wrote that he was troubled by depression and Obsessive-compulsive neurosis, which burdened his family members and destroyed his confidence.  

Two public companies controlled by Yongjin Group – Sinolink Securities (SSE:600109) and Jiuzhitang Co. (SZSE 000989) – suspended trading on April 30 pending announcements.

Lei Bo, chairman of Sinolink, confirmed Wei’s death to Caijing but didn’t specify a reason for the suicide. Lei said companies under the Yongjin umbrella, including Sinolink, will continue normal operations, and “won’t be paralyzed by the departure of any single person.”

Wei’s sudden death sent shock waves through China’s securities circles and whipped up rumors and speculation. It seems unlikely that Wei’s death is a result of poor business as companies controlled by Yongjin group are booming. 

Wei, a low profile entrepreneur, founded Yongjin, a financial consulting company, in 1994. In the decade since, Yongjin has evolved into one of China’s biggest financial empires by trading shares of public companies. In 2002, Yongjin bought a public pharmaceutical manufacturer named Jiuzhitang, and used it as a major vehicle for its moves in the stock market. Via Jiuzhitang, Yongjin became the second largest shareholder of Qianjin Pharmaceutical (SSE: 600479).

Another focus of Yongjin in recent years has been to pocket financial institutions. Yongjin purchased a majority stake of Chengdu Securities in 2005, renamed it as Sinolink, and made it a public company through a reverse listing. In addition, Yongjin controls Yunnan International Trust & Investment Co. Ltd., and owns shares in the Bank of Communications and Wuhan Commercial Bank.

In early April, Wei’s name appeared in the prospectus of Zhejiang Dahua Technology Ltd. He and the Yongjin group owned 5.53 percent and 3.5 percent of Dahua perceptively.

Wei was born in 1967, and earned a degree on finance from Central University of Finance & Economics.