China tells banks to check exposure to debt-laden Fosun conglomerate

Sprawling group owns assets including Thomas Cook, Club Med and Wolverhampton Wanderers

China's biggest banks and state-owned companies have been told to check their financial exposure to Fosun, the sprawling conglomerate that owns assets including the Premier League football club Wolverhampton Wanderers, as the heavily debt-laden group struggles from the impact of downturn in the property sector in its home market.

The financial strength of the Shanghai-based group, co-founded in 1992 by the billionaire Guo Guangchang and built into one of China's largest non-state-owned conglomerates, has come under scrutiny after a huge sell-off in property bonds that began in June.