金立董事长刘立荣承认赌博

A Chinese tech tycoon is denying that his ten-figure gambling losses at Saipan's Imperial Pacific casino are to blame for the near-bankruptcy of smartphone maker Gionee.

近日，中国一名技术大亨否认自己在塞班岛帝国太平洋赌场输掉的十几亿元与智能手机制造商金立濒临破产有所关联。

Last weekend, Chinese business media outlet Securities Times published an interview with Gionee chairman/CEO Liu Lirong in which he denied reports that he'd lost up to RMB 10b (US$1.44b) gambling at the Imperial Pacific Resort casino on the island of Saipan.

上周末，中国商业媒体《证券时报》发表了对金立董事长兼首席执行官刘立荣的采访。刘立荣在采访中否认了有关他在塞班岛帝国太平洋度假村赌场输掉了100亿元人民币(约合14.4亿美元)的报道。

Gionee, which holds 6% of China's smartphone market, is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, with around RMB17b in debts on its balance sheet.

占据中国智能手机市场6%份额的金立正濒临破产，其资产负债表附表上负债约170亿元人民币。

Suppliers have cut off the company after several months of non-payments, leaving the company's future severely in doubt.

供应商在该公司几个月未付款后切断了与其的联系，使金立的未来受到严重怀疑。

In January, a court in the Chinese city of Dongguan ordered a two-year freeze of Liu's 41% stake in Gionee, reportedly based on growing awareness of the exec's mounting gambling debts.

今年一月，中国东莞市一家法院下令冻结了刘立荣在金立41%的股份，为期两年。据报道，原因是外界越来越意识到这位高管的赌债越来越多。

Liu said the rumors of his gambling debts were greatly exaggerated, saying "how could Ipossibly lose" the reported RMB10b sum.

刘立荣表示，关于自己赌债的传闻被严重夸大了，称“我怎么可能输掉100亿元”。

Liu added that if the rumors were true, Imperial Pacific International's Hong Kong-listed shares"should have surged" instead of falling by half since the start of the year.

刘立荣补充称，如果传言属实，那么帝国太平洋国际在香港上市的股票自年初以来“应该大幅上涨”，而不是下跌一半。

Liu did admit that he'd lost "a bit more than RMB1b" ($144m) from his gambling activity.

不过刘立荣承认，他确实在赌博中输掉了“10亿多元人民币”(约合1.44亿美元)。