Wangjing SOHO in Beijing. Photo: VCG

 
Chinese regulators handed a massive 709 million yuan ($111 million) fine to a unit of Chinese office developer SOHO China, which is chaired by Chinese real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi, for evading taxes, according to a statement published on the website of the Beijing Municipal Tax Service.
 
The unit, Beijing Jianhua Real Estate Co, has evaded about 198 million yuan in taxes by means of fraudulent tax reports in its real estate project SOHO Shangdu, according to the statement. 

Public data showed that Beijing Jianhua was founded in 1994 with registered capital of 1.04 trillion yuan. Pan Shiyi is the company's legal representative and president, while Zhang Xin, Pan's wife, is the firm's vice president. 

The fine came after reports of the Chinese real estate power couple selling their assets in recent years. SOHO China announced in June that it would be sold to US-based Blackstone Group in a deal worth HK$23.7 billion, but the buyout was later aborted. 

According to a Reuters report in September, Pan and his wife have been "scouting for buyers" as they look to shift their focus to overseas markets.

In December, the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau also fined units of SOHO China a total of 86.64 million yuan for electricity price violations in a number of the company's projects. 

The stock price of SOHO China slumped by 2.31 percent to HK$1.69 per share on the Hong Kong stock market on Friday.