Are the New Habanos Investors Revealed?
Are the new Habanos investors revealed? The last few days, Cigar Inspector has heard from several, usually well-informed sources who the people behind Allied Cigar Corporation S.L are. Or better said, rumoured to be are as there is no confirmation yet. But considering the credibility of our sources, we decided to write an article anyway.
One name that was leaked before, and mentioned on websites as Halfwheel is Alvin Chau. He is a citizen of Macau, which is the Las Vegas of China. Chau made billions in the gambling industry and is the controlling stake holder of the Suncity group. Suncity Group develops and operates integrated resorts across Asia, including the Russia Federation, the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan, etc. The Group also operates in the travel segment and the mall operation segment. Chau made his name and fame in the gambling industry, reportedly as a disciple of Macau organised crime boss Wan “Broken Tooth” Kuok-koi. In December of 2021, Chau was arrested. China suspect him from illegal gambling businesses in Mainland China. He’s awaiting trial in a Macau prison.
Another alleged major investor in Allied Cigar Corporation S.L is Huang Youlong, another Chinese billionaire and the husband of a famous Chinese actress. Huang Youlong was engaged in hotel management in his early years, and his business involved real estate management, financial investment management, building materials marketing, automobile trade and tourism. According to the media, he also opened a tobacco factory in Macau to vigorously develop hotels, catering and wine businesses. In January, he was sued over debts of more than $300 million. In the past, he was also banned from the Chinese stock exchange for releasing fake information, leading him to make profits on transactions on the exchange.
The wife of Huang Youlong is the Chinese actress Zhao Wei also known as Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, businesswoman, film director, producer and pop singer. She is considered one of the most popular actresses in China and Chinese-speaking regions, and one of the highest paid actresses as well. Earlier this year, Zhao Wei disappeared for a few weeks, like other Chinese celebrities before, and according to rumours that had to do with her close ties with Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and the investigations into his business by the Chinese government. Many people believe that she was jailed by the government during the investigations, but Zhao never said anything about her disappearance.
And we just mentioned the name Jack Ma. Jack Ma Yun is a Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, a multinational technology conglomerate. In addition, he co-founded Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm. It is rumoured that Ma, a known cigar aficionado, is a minority stake holder in Allied Cigar Corporation S.L. Ma is under heavy investigation by the Chinese government and hasn’t officially been seen for almost a year. Forbes wrote an article about the mystery surrounding Jack Ma’s disappearance.
There could be more investors, or the people mentioned above could not be involved at all, but considering the reputation of our sources we believe that Chau, Huang, Zhao and Ma are involved. All the legal problems surrounding them could also be the reason why the final sale is dragging for so long, as sources within Habanos told Cigar Inspector that the final signature isn’t on a contract yet.
