Problems are deepening for an ambitious Chinese tech billionaire, who had grand plans to expand in the United States of America.
Mr. Jia Yueting, who built Chinese firm, LeEco, into a sprawling business empire, has had assets frozen by a Shanghai court.
According to CNN, the $183 million asset freeze also affects Jia’s wife and three businesses affiliated with LeEco, which had been struggling for months with a cash crunch. Forbes estimates Jia’s net worth at $3.6 billion.
Under Jia’s leadership, LeEco expanded at a breakneck pace, charging into a head-spinning array of industries, including movies, smartphones and transportation. Its U.S. interests include electric car company Faraday Future and offices in Silicon Valley.
During its meteoric rise, the company was dubbed the “Netflix of China” for its video streaming business, and Jia once dismissed Apple as “outdated.” But since late last year, he’s been forced to eat humble pie.
In November, he admitted LeEco was running low on cash, vowing to slash his annual salary to just 1 yuan (about 15 cents at the time). Since then, the company had to abandon a high profile deal to buy U.S. electronics maker, Vizio and is reported to have cut hundreds of jobs.
At a shareholders’ meeting, Jia said that the company had been trying to pay back more than $1.5 billion in loans to various financial institutions. Jia told investors he hoped to get the business back on track as soon as possible.
One of its unhappy lenders is China Merchant Bank, which asked the Shanghai court last month for the asset freeze.
“The company’s top management team is in close communication with relevant financial agencies … in order to solve the debt issues as soon as possible,” LeEco spokesman Chen Xuanyi told CNNMoney.
