JPMorgan shuts China tycoon’s account that made millions for bank: Sources
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Shunning an investor with a disclosed large stake in a public company is an unusual move for a major private bank.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Hong Kong – JPMorgan Chase & Co has shut the private banking account of Mr Tang Hao, a Chinese investor who rose to prominence after taking a multibillion-dollar stake in one of the world’s top-performing stocks, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr Tang was a major client of JPMorgan’s China private banking team who generated millions of dollars in revenue before the firm ended relations a few months ago because of know-your-customer issues, the people said. Mr Tang had a US$4 billion (S$5.1 billion) stake in AppLovin Corp as at early 2025 after the US ad-tech firm’s shares surged more than 700 per cent the previous year.
“As a matter of policy, we are unable to confirm whether any individual is a client of the private bank,” a spokesperson for JPMorgan said. AppLovin spokesperson Joshua Grandy and a representative for Mr Tang declined to comment.
Shunning an investor with a disclosed large stake in a public firm is an unusual move for a major private bank. Even so, JPMorgan’s revenue from the China business has been growing, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Know-your-customer rules require banks to verify a client’s identity and source of funds to avoid potential illicit activity.
US-based AppLovin, which provides marketing services to mobile app developers, was a beneficiary of the AI boom and ranked among the world’s best-performing stocks in 2024.
A filing from 2025 showed Mr Tang had a 3.2 per cent stake in the company, which is worth about US$4.6 billion as at the close of trading on March 17, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Beyond investing, Mr Tang has been active in philanthropy. His family donated US$20 million in 2018 to Columbia University’s engineering school, and set up a fellowship for AI studies at Carnegie Mellon University through the Goldenway Education Foundation, now known as the Tang Family Foundation.
In 2009, Mr Tang founded Goldenway Investments in Hong Kong, which has holdings in numerous areas. Goldenway was thrust into the spotlight in Britain after a whistleblower at its now-closed London brokerage, Goldenway Global Investments, said he was told by bosses to obtain a visa for an employee who turned out to be a Chinese spy, according to an employment tribunal ruling. The firm in 2024 said it would appeal the finding in favour of the former compliance officer, who was fired after complaining to the Financial Conduct Authority. Goldenway said at the time that it disagreed with the London tribunal. BLOOMBERG
