Meituan lost $26 billion after CEO posted ancient poem online

Meituan has been following the footsteps of many other tech giants in China.


Alfred Lee

13 May, 2021

Meituan lost $26 billion after CEO posted ancient poem online | BEAMSTART News

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.

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