(Yicai) Feb. 23 -- Chinese bottled water giant Wahaha Group confirmed media reports claiming its founder and chairman had been hospitalized.

Zong Qinghou is in hospital to receive treatment due to some health issues, the Hangzhou-based company announced yesterday. Zong’s conditions are stable, and Wahaha’s operations are normal, it added.

Media reports earlier claimed Zong is receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital affiliated with Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou.

Zong,78, founded Wahaha in 1991. The company, which is now one of China’s top 500 enterprises, has 81 production facilities, 187 subsidiaries, and nearly 30,000 employees.

Zong’s daughter Zong Fuli has been gradually stepping in to succeed her father in recent years.

Zong Fuli joined Wahaha in 2004, when she was only 22. She was appointed head of the public relations department in 2018 and deputy general manager of the company’s sales unit in March 2020. In December 2021, she was promoted to vice chair and general manager in charge of Wahaha’s daily work.

Zong Qinghou talked about his daughter multiple times with the media, saying she gradually grew into a mature entrepreneur. He also expressed his satisfaction with her independent management of the group, claiming she was better than him.

Editor: Futura Costaglione