Zhang Jindong lost his fortune by covering the Chinese group’s 29.9 billion euro debts
The Chinese businessman, former controller (2016-2024) of Inter Milan, lost all of his personal assets after restructuring the club’s debt.
The plan involved debts of 238.7 billion yuan (around 29.9 billion euros) and was conducted by the Intermediate People’s Court of Nanjing, China, according to local press reports.
As guarantor of the company’s financial operations, Zhang had to hand over all his assets to pay off part of the debts. Real estate, equity interests, financial assets and even collectibles were liquidated through judicial auctions or agreements with creditors.
As a result, the businessman no longer has assets available in his name. The assets were transferred to a structure dedicated to paying the group’s obligations. The information is from the specialized website.
Suning’s crisis is associated with the company’s accelerated expansion from 2016 to 2020, a period in which it raised more than 180 billion yuan through loans, bond issuance and other financial instruments – part of which was used in the acquisition of Inter.
The situation worsened from 2020 onwards, with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on physical retail. In 2021, the company recorded losses of more than 40 billion yuan and accumulated more than 100 billion yuan in overdue debt.
Zhang tried to restructure the group by selling a stake in Suning.com to Chinese state-owned companies in 2021, in a transaction that generated around 8.8 billion yuan. Still, the cross-collateralization structure led to the progressive liquidation of its assets from 2021 to 2025.
Despite losing his assets, the businessman maintains influence over the governance of the restructured company, with the right to appoint members to the board of directors. Permanence, however, depends on the group’s future performance.
