Xu Ming

Xu Ming (徐明)

Xu Ming (徐明), chairman of the board of directors of the Dalian Shide Group and its soccer club, was detained over his alleged involvement in economic crimes in mid-March, 2012.

Born in April 1971 in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Xu graduated from Shenyang Aerospace University in 1990, having majored in foreign trade and economics. He completed his master's in business and economics at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics in July, 1998.

In 1992, Xu established the Dalian Shide Group, serving as chairman of the board of directors. The group is principally concerned with chemical building materials and is currently one of the world's largest PVC materials producers. Over the past two decades, the group has expanded into the insurance, home appliance, culture and sports industries.

In 2005, Xu was named by Forbes as the eighth-richest person on the Chinese mainland.

In 2011, Shanghai Daily reported that Xu's Shide Group was ranked 66th-out of Chinese mainland's top 500 privately-run enterprises, with annual revenue of 12.1 billion yuan (US$1.92 billion). Also in 2011, Xu was listed as the fifth-richest individual, with assets totaling 13 billion yuan, in the Northeast Wealth Report released by the Hurun Agency.

In mid-March 2012, Xu was detained over his alleged involvement in economic crimes.

Xu also holds the posts of vice chairman of the board of directors of Dalian Commercial Bank Shareholding Co. Ltd., director of the Pacific Insurance (Group) Shareholding Co. Ltd., member of the Standing Committee of Liaoning Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference, vice chairman of Dalian Municipal Zhi Gong Dang, vice chairman of Liaoning Branch of China Chamber of International Commerce, and vice chairman of the board of directors of China Guanghua Science and Technology Foundation.