Shanghai, Nov 23 (IANS): Chinese actress Zhao Wei aka Vicki Zhao has been banned for five years from holding senior positions in any listed company in China.

The ruling was made by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The punishment relates to the failed 2016 takeover bid announced by Tibet Longwei, a company controlled by Zhao and her husband, Huang Youlong, for 29 per cent of Zhejiang Wanija, reports variety.com

The couple were found to have "disrupted market order" and to have benefited from a "celebrity effect" when they announced their bid, but did not have the financial resources to go through with it.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission had previously punished the pair with a five-year ban from trading on the Shanghai market and a $170,000 fine for the same offence.

Zhao rose to fame with the 1990s TV series "My Fair Princess". She then featured in movies like "Shaolin Soccer" and "Red Cliff". In 2014, Zhao also made her directorial debut with the film "So Young".