Wanchang chairman dies in fall 3 days after listing

山东一上市公司董事长坠楼身亡

Zibo Wanchang Science & Technology Co. confirmed on Tuesday that its chairman Gao Qingchang fell to his death on May 23 in Zibo, Shandong Province.

Gao fell from a building and died on Monday afternoon, said people familiar with the matter. It's said that Gao was supposed to go to Qingdao, also in Shandong, to deal with matters concerning 10 million yuan in cash before the fall.

The company did not provide details about Gao's fall. It's still unclear whether Gao's death was an accident or a suicide. But Yao Haiying, deputy economics editor at Time Weekly, said Monday on his Sina microblog that Gao jumped to his death on Monday morning, citing Hu Xide, director of Zibo City's Financial Affairs Office.

Gao's company, Wanchang Science & Technology had just listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on May 20. Founded in 2000, the company manufactures and distributes agricultural chemicals and pharmaceutical intermediates. It leads the domestic market in overall production and sales of trimethyl orthofomate and triethyl orthoformate.

According to Wanchang Science & Technology's statement, its general manager Wang Mingxian will take charge of management on a temporary basis.

Shares of the company surprisingly surged by 10 percent on the news and hit the ceiling price on Monday, closing at 23.54 yuan.

The stock's rise stood in stark contrast to the market's overall slump. Chinese shares fell 2.93 percent to a 16-week low Monday as the Shanghai Composite Index slipped below 2,800 points.

万昌科技今天发布公告证实，该公司董事长高庆昌于2011年5月23日逝世。

据知情人士透露，高庆昌是今天上午坠楼身亡的。据称坠楼前，他本来要亲赴青岛处理一笔1000万元现金事项，不料意外发生。

该公司公告内容未言及高庆昌死因。高之死是意外还是自杀仍属未知，但时代周报经济部副主任姚海鹰昨在其微博中称，万昌科技董事长高庆昌周一上午跳楼身亡，淄博金融办胡希德主任透露。

万昌科技全称淄博万昌科技股份有限公司，刚刚于5月20日登陆中小板。该公司于2000年1月18日成立，主要产品原甲酸三甲酯、原甲酸三乙酯广泛用于农药、医药的合成，其生产规模、销售量在国内市场占有率位居第一位。

该公司公告表示，现阶段董事长日常工作由董事、总经理王明贤代为主持。

但万昌科技股票昨日逆势涨停，每股收于23.54元，较上一交易日收盘价每股21.40元，上涨10%。

昨日，沪指重挫逾80点失守年线，跌破2800点整数关，跌幅超过3%，创下自1月17日以来最大单日跌幅。