China tech giant’s shares slide over ancient poem

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – Shares in Chinese food delivery giant Meituan have fallen sharply after its boss reportedly shared a 1,000-year-old poem on social media.

The Book Burning Pit by Zhang Jie was posted, then deleted, by the firm’s billionaire chief executive, Wang Xing.

The Tang dynasty poem was interpreted as a veiled criticism of President Xi Jinping’s government.

Meituan is currently under investigation over allegations of abusing its market dominance.

The company is one of China’s biggest takeaway food delivery and lifestyle services platforms and is backed by technology giant Tencent.

It has a market valuation of around USD 220 billion and in April raised USD 10 billion to fund its investment plans for deliveries using drones and self-driving vehicles.