Businessman Li Hejun, the chairman of the solar panel firm Hanergy Thin Film Power, was China's richest man. In just mere seconds, that quickly changed after he lost $15 billion when his company's shares crashed by 47 percent in Hong Kong trading Wednesday.

While Li's value went down by $15 billion, Hanergy's market value lost $18.6 billion. As a result of the crash in stocks, the Hong Kong-listed company suspended trading in Hong Kong.

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Eighty percent of Hanergy, a company that uses specialized technology in the production of thinner and more flexible solar panels, is owned by Li. It has several branches worldwide, with over 15,000 employees to boot.

At the company's annual shareholder meeting in Hong Kong Wednesday, Li was not present. He was in Beijing attending the opening of Hanergy's clean energy exhibition, according to a company spokesperson. By the time the meeting began, shares also plummeted.

A day has passed since the company's shares has plummeted, and Hanergy still has not made a formal statement with regard to the matter, giving way to more confusion.

Though the company gave its first statement Wednesday, there was no mention of a reason for suspension in trading.

In an ensuing statement from Hanergy, it said that the suspension in stock trading was pending "an announcement containing inside information."

Meanwhile, Bespoke Investment, a New York research and wealth management firm, called the Hanergy crash "a complete mess," though it came as no surprise to experts.

Even before the mystery crash, analysts, investors, and regulators have described the company as "a disaster waiting to happen" since it had been working with "unproven" technology," according to Zero Hedge.

Over the past year, Hanergy's shares went up massively by 625 percent. As a result, it became seven times larger than First Solar, the United States' top solar firm. In April, Hanergy even hit over $45, making Li the richest man in China in March.

The hasty rise in the company's shares months prior to the crash resulted in experts' questions as to how the company was gaining profit, as well as the risks it was taking in investment on emerging markets, according to CNN. There have also been questions over market manipulation.

Earlier this year, there were further concerns raised after the company announced that 60 percent of its sales came from Hanergy Holding Group, its Beijing-based parent company also headed by Li.

As for Li's response to market speculations on manipulation, he defended the company and simply said that critics simply do not understand his strategy, as well as the possibilities the thin-film market could bring, reported Bloomberg.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission had reportedly been on the lookout for market manipulation for weeks now. However, the commission did not identify its source, Reuters reported. The Financial Times also reported the uncommon price movements and accounting practices of Hanergy.

Hanergy's stock is still suspended from trading. Meanwhile, there remains no further comment from Hanergy regarding the crash.

Tagschina’s richest man, Hong Kong, Hanergy, Hanergy Thin Film Power, hong kong trading, Li Hejun, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, businessman Li Hejun