Latest news with #Mao
HKFP
a day ago
- Business
- HKFP
US bank Wells Fargo employee blocked from leaving China: reports
US bank Wells Fargo told AFP Friday it was working to help one of its employees return to the United States, after reports they had been barred from leaving China. Multiple media outlets reported earlier Friday that the employee involved was Chenyue Mao, an Atlanta-based managing director who was born in Shanghai. Mao had entered the country in recent weeks but is now unable to leave, they said. 'We are closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible,' the company told AFP when asked to confirm the reports. The company declined to give further details. The San Francisco-based bank is now restricting its employees from visiting China following this case, reports said. Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he was 'not familiar' with the specific case when asked about it at a news conference on Friday. 'China is a country governed by the rule of law. Whether a person is Chinese or foreign, in China both must respect China's laws,' Lin added. Global firms have faced an increasingly difficult business environment in China in recent years, industry groups say, citing a lack of transparency on data laws and prolonged detentions of employees in the country. A court in China sentenced a Japanese businessman from pharmaceutical company Astellas to three-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday for spying. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in November said that the head of its China operations Leon Wang had been detained, after reports the firm was under investigation for potentially illegal data collection and drug imports. And in 2023 a senior executive at US risk advisory firm Kroll was prohibited from leaving China, the Wall Street Journal reported.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Wells Fargo employee barred from leaving China, prompting travel freeze
Wells Fargo has suspended all employee travel to China after one of its senior bankers was barred from leaving the country, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The employee, Chenyue Mao, a U.S. citizen and managing director at Wells Fargo, was prohibited from leaving after traveling to China on business in recent weeks, the report said. Wells Fargo confirmed the travel suspension and said it is working to secure Mao's return. 'We are closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible,' the bank, which is headquartered in San Francisco, said in a statement to the Chronicle. Mao, who was born in Shanghai and is based in Atlanta, leads Wells Fargo's international factoring business and frequently works with Chinese firms in the trade finance sector, according to the WSJ report. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy told the New York Post that it was unaware of Mao's case. 'As principle, China always welcomes foreign citizens, including those of the United States, to come to China and guarantees their safety and legitimate rights and interests in China in accordance with the law, including freedom of entry and exit,' Liu Pengyu said. 'Meanwhile, foreign citizens in China should also respect and abide by Chinese laws.' In 2023, Charles Wang Zhonghe, a senior executive at Japanese-based financial services firm Nomura, was similarly barred from leaving China for nearly a year for an unspecified reason.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Why can't this Wells Fargo banker leave China? The Chenyue Mao case everyone's talking about
A Wells Fargo managing director, Chenyue Mao , has become the unexpected face of a growing anxiety among global businesses: what happens when one of your own can't leave China? Why Was Mao Blocked from Leaving China? Mao, a US citizen born in Shanghai and currently based in Atlanta, entered China in recent weeks on a business trip, the exact details of when she entered China are not known, as per a Reuters report. But when she attempted to leave, she discovered she couldn't as Chinese authorities reportedly placed an exit ban on her, preventing her from returning to the US, according to the report. This incident led Wells Fargo to immediately suspend all corporate travel to China, as reported by Reuters. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category others Artificial Intelligence Management Digital Marketing Others Cybersecurity Technology Public Policy Product Management Degree Data Analytics Data Science Leadership Finance Design Thinking Project Management Data Science healthcare MCA PGDM Healthcare MBA Operations Management CXO Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT - ISB Cybersecurity for Leaders Program India Starts on undefined Get Details Wells Fargo told Reuters, "We are closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible," as quoted by Reuters. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like When the Camera Clicked at the Worst Possible Time Read More ALSO READ: OpenAI unveils ChatGPT Agent: Too tired to plan your date, shop online, or create a slide deck? This new AI tool has you covered Veteran Banker with Deep Ties to Global Trade Finance Mao has worked at Wells Fargo for over a decade and leads its international factoring business, helping companies manage cross-border working capital, as per the report. Factoring is a financing method where companies sell their receivables to third parties, known as factors, like a bank, in exchange for immediate cash, and the factor profits by purchasing the receivables at a discount and collecting the full amount later, as explained by Reuters in its report. In June 2025, she was elected chairwoman of FCI, formerly named Factors Chain International, a global industry body for receivables finance, as reported by Reuters. Live Events It's not clear what prompted Chinese authorities to impose the travel restriction, according to the report. Mao has previously worked and interacted with Chinese companies and industry groups on trade financing and international factoring matters, while she also sometimes travels to China for business, according to the Reuters report. Will It Affect US-China Relations? The ban comes amid the tense US-China relations due to increasing rivalries in strategic, economic, and geopolitical issues, as per the report. While China has increasingly used exit bans on both Chinese and foreign nationals, many times in connection with civil disputes, regulatory investigations or criminal probes, as reported by Reuters. Just like Mao, most of the affected individuals are unaware of the restrictions until they plan to leave the country, as per the report. A senior Trump administration official told Reuters, "The Chinese government has, for many years, imposed exit bans on U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals in China, often without a clear and transparent judicial process for resolution," as quoted in the report. ALSO READ: Biggest piece of Mars on Earth sells for $5.3 million — meet the meteorite that shocked Sotheby What Does This Mean for Other Global Companies? Meanwhile, her exit ban could worsen concerns among multinational companies about the risks of doing business in China because of employee safety and freedom of movement, according to the report. The incident might also lead to a ban on corporate travel to the country and complicate relations between the world's two biggest economies, according to the Reuters report. FAQs Who is Chenyue Mao? She's a US citizen and managing director at Wells Fargo, where she leads the bank's international factoring business. Why can't Chenyue Mao leave China? Chinese authorities reportedly placed an exit ban on her, though the exact reason hasn't been disclosed, as per the Reuters report.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Factbox-Wells Fargo's business in China, where senior executive faces an exit ban
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Wells Fargo has suspended all travel to China after a banker was blocked from leaving the country, a source said, bringing the U.S. bank's operations in the world's second-largest economy into focus. The employee, Chenyue Mao, who was born in Shanghai and based in Atlanta, currently serves as a managing director at the U.S. commercial bank, specialising in international factoring business. Below are the publicly available details about Wells Fargo's business interest in China and Asia Pacific: CHINA BANKING UNITS * Wells Fargo's China presence is much smaller than its Wall Street peers. The bank first set up a representative office in Beijing in 1997, which was de-registered in 2018, business registration records show. * In 2005, the bank established a branch in Shanghai and, in 2015, another one in Beijing. The two branches employed 51 and 12 staff, respectively, as of 2024, the records show. * These two branches draw deposits from Chinese customers, and provide loans, trade bonds and securities other than stocks, and conduct foreign exchange businesses, according to the units' business registration. * Unlike other large U.S. banks, Wells Fargo has not moved to establish a locally incorporated foreign-funded bank - a status that allowed foreign lenders to offer a wider range of banking businesses. FACTORING BUSINESS * Mao, a trade financing executive at Wells Fargo, has been with the bank for 12 years, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was elected chairwoman at FCI two weeks ago, a global organisation for factoring and financing for domestic and international trade. * Mao spearheads Wells Fargo's international factoring business, a financing method where companies sell their receivables to third parties, such as banks, in exchange for immediate cash, and advises multinational clients on cross-border working-capital strategies, according to an FCI release. * She has spent more than 21 years in factoring, including over a decade guiding Wells Fargo's global franchise. Mao has grown annual import-factoring flows to 2.6 billion euros ($3.02 billion), the release reads. * Apart from banking, Wells Fargo's commercial distribution finance arm established a factoring company in Beijing's neighbouring city Tianjin in 2012, according to business records. The unit has a branch office in Shanghai that houses 34 staff. * Factoring businesses, a niche sector that thrives on the rising demand from small- and medium-sized enterprises for financing, are supervised by China's banking regulator, according to a report from official industry body Commercial Factoring Expertise Committee in China. WELLS FARGO IN ASIA PACIFIC * The bank has two main Asia Pacific hubs in Hong Kong and Singapore, according to its website. Other regional offices including Seoul, Taipei, and Tokyo, in addition to in-country relationship management teams outside of these cities. * Its Hong Kong branch, which supports the bank's customers in Asia, recorded HK$42 million ($5.35 million) in profit after tax in 2024, down 22% from the previous year, financial disclosures in April showed. ($1 = 0.8602 euros) ($1 = 7.8488 Hong Kong dollars) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
US bank Wells Fargo employee blocked from leaving China
BEIJING: US bank Wells Fargo told AFP Friday it was working to help one of its employees return to the United States, after reports they had been barred from leaving China. Multiple media outlets reported earlier Friday that the employee involved was Chenyue Mao, an Atlanta-based managing director who was born in Shanghai. Mao had entered the country in recent weeks but is now unable to leave, they said. "We are closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible," the company told AFP when asked to confirm the reports. The company declined to give further details. The San Francisco-based bank is now restricting its employees from visiting China following this case, reports said. Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he was "not familiar" with the specific case when asked about it at a news conference on Friday. "China is a country governed by the rule of law. Whether a person is Chinese or foreign, in China both must respect China's laws," Lin added. Global firms have faced an increasingly difficult business environment in China in recent years, industry groups say, citing a lack of transparency on data laws and prolonged detentions of employees in the country. A court in China sentenced a Japanese businessman from pharmaceutical company Astellas to three-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday for spying. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in November said that the head of its China operations Leon Wang had been detained, after reports the firm was under investigation for potentially illegal data collection and drug imports. And in 2023 a senior executive at US risk advisory firm Kroll was prohibited from leaving China, the Wall Street Journal reported.
