Hong Kong police have confirmed they are investigating the disappearance of Chinese billionaire Xiao Jianhua, despite a request from his family not to do so.
Xiao, one of China's richest men and founder of the Beijing-based Tomorrow Group, crossed onto the Chinese mainland on Friday, authorities told DPA.
A source close to the Chinese billionaire also told the South China Morning Post that Xiao was in China.
The anonymous source, who didn't want to be named by the Post because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Xiao can only communicate with family members however.
Wednesday's police statement and media reports were the latest twist in events surrounding Xiao's apparent disappearance.
A front page newspaper advertisement in Hong Kong on Wednesday stated that Xiao was seeking treatment abroad.
The Tomorrow Group has also released two statements, via Chinese messaging app WeChat, saying Xiao was overseas and would appear "very soon after the treatment," the Post reported.
The two WeChat statements have since been removed.
The Tomorrow Group is a holding company for a vast business empire with stakes in Chinese state-dominated industries including banking, insurance, property, coal, cement and rare-earth minerals.
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