LeEco's billionaire founder pleads for time as creditors close in

Beijing

LEECO chairman Jia Yueting asked for more time to repay debt and realise his ambitions of disrupting the vehicle industry, days after a Chinese court froze billions of dollars in assets controlled by him and associated companies.

The increasingly beleaguered tycoon, who built his sprawling tech conglomerate on a Netflix-like streaming service and smart TVs, said in a Weibo post that he's decided to devote his time to developing a futuristic electric car. He said he stepped down from his role as the chief executive officer of LeEco's main listed company to focus on Faraday Future, the US-based startup now trying to raise funds to bring the FF91 electric car to fruition.