Chinese Tycoons, CEOs & Tuhao

[GeneChing]

These stories are starting to become more prevalent so I'm starting this thread. It's another telling barometer of the dragon that is China awakening.

Some related thread precedents:
Jet-Li-s-TaijiZen-International-Cultural-Development-Company (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65314-Jet-Li-s-TaijiZen-International-Cultural-Development-Company) (a lot about Jack Ma)

China-s-most-powerful-celebrities (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?51397-China-s-most-powerful-celebrities)


Chinese Taxi Driver Turned Billionaire Bought Modigliani Painting (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/arts/international/liu-yiqian-modigliani-nu-couche.html?_r=0)
By AMY QINNOV. 10, 2015

Sold! In China

The Shanghai financier Liu Yiqian went from taxi driver to multimillionaire. He is also one of China’s most prolific collectors of art. By Jonah M. Kessel on Publish Date December 17, 2013. Photo by The New York Times. Watch in Times Video

BEIJING — Liu Yiqian, a former taxi driver turned billionaire art collector, confirmed on Tuesday that he was the buyer of the painting of a nude woman by Amedeo Modigliani that sold for $170.4 million at Christie’s New York on Monday night.

Speaking by telephone from Shanghai, the Chinese collector said he planned to bring the work back to the city, where he and his wife have two private museums.

“We are planning to exhibit it for the museum’s fifth anniversary,” he said. “It will be an opportunity for Chinese art lovers to see good artworks without having to leave the country, which is one of the main reasons why we founded the museums.”

Bidding by telephone, Mr. Liu, 52, was one of six people competing for Modigliani’s 1917-18 canvas, “Nu Couché,” during the auction. The final price of $170.4 million with fees was well above the previous auction record of $70.7 million for a work by Modigliani. With Mr. Liu’s winning bid, the painting became the 10th work of art to reach the elite nine-figure club for works sold at auction.

“Modigliani’s works already have a pretty established value on the market,” Mr. Liu said. “This work is relatively nice compared to his other nude paintings. And his nude paintings have been collected by some of the world’s top museums.”

As a teenager growing up in Shanghai during the tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Liu sold handbags on the street and later worked as a taxi driver. After dropping out of middle school, he went on to ride the wave of China’s economic opening and reform, making a fortune through stock trading in real estate and pharmaceuticals in the 1980s and 1990s. According to the 2015 Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mr. Liu is worth at least $1.5 billion.

“To me, art collecting is primarily a process of learning about art,” Mr. Liu said in an interview with The New York Times in 2013. “First you must be fond of the art. Then you can have an understanding of it.”

Mr. Liu, together with his wife, Wang Wei, is one of China’s most visible –—some say flashy — art collectors. Over the years, they have built a vast collection of both traditional and contemporary Chinese art, much of which is displayed in their two museums in Shanghai: the Long Museum Pudong, which opened in 2012; and the Long Museum West Bund, which opened last year. Ms. Wang, 52, is the director of both museums.

“I first came up with the idea that the Long Museum should collect international objects about two years ago,” said Ms. Wang, adding that her husband has been very supportive of her work.

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/11/10/arts/10AUCTION1/10AUCTION1-articleLarge.jpg
Amedeo Modigliani’s “Nu Couché” (1917-18). Credit via Christie’s

The couple’s collection includes a 15th-century silk hanging, called a thangka, bought by Mr. Liu for $45 million at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong last year. The purchase made headlines when it set the record for a Chinese artwork sold at an international auction.

With that purchase, Mr. Liu broke a record he had set months earlier when he paid $36.3 million at a Sotheby’s sale for a tiny Ming dynasty porcelain cup known as a “chicken cup.” Soon after, he caused an uproar after a photograph that showed him sipping tea from the antique cup spread online.

For both record-setting acquisitions, Mr. Liu reportedly paid with an American Express credit card, earning him many millions of reward points.

The couple’s self-promotion tactics have prompted some in contemporary art circles in China to draw comparisons with the “taxi tycoon” Robert Scull and his wife Ethel, voracious collectors of what came to be known as “Pop Art” in the 1960s but derided by some in the art world as crass nouveaux riche.

Speaking about Mr. Liu and Ms. Wang, Philip Tinari, director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, said: “These are collectors that have so much money that they acquire taste or they don’t have to have to taste because they buy everything in sight.” He added: “There’s very little discrimination, they just buy the most expensive things. They’re not connoisseurs.”

“Nu Couché” will be the most expensive artwork in the couple’s collection, Mr. Liu said. But when asked whether he planned to pay with the credit card again, Mr. Liu demurred.

“The payment method will be carried out in accordance with Christie’s guidelines,” he said.

A version of this article appears in print on November 11, 2015, on page A26 of the New York edition with the headline: Billionaire Is Buyer of a Modigliani. =

[GeneChing]

Will Joseph Lau's daughter grow up to be the Asian Paris Hilton? Doubtful.


Hong Kong tycoon's 7-year-old daughter now owns the world's most expensive diamond ever sold at auction (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/11/13/blue_moon_of_josephine.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/expensive_diamond.jpg

On Wednesday, a Hong Kong billionaire bought the extremely rare and ultra-pricey "Blue Moon" diamond for a whopping $48.4 million at a Geneva auction, making it the world's most expensive diamond ever purchased.

Turns out, that when you pay that much for something you also get to rename it, so the buyer chose to call his newest rock "The Blue Moon of Josephine," after his 7-year-old daughter.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/expensive_diamond2.jpg

The flawless 12.03-carat blue diamond has been described as one of the rarest gems in the world. It was whittled down from a 29.6-carat blue diamond discovered in South Africa last year, placed on a ring and now will be worn on special occasions by a primary school kid.

The record-breaking sale took place at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva. Auctioneer David Bennett said that it sold for more than $4 million per cart, the highest price per carat ever obtained for any kind of stone, the BBC reports.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/expensive_diamond2.jpg

Initially, the proud new owner was described only as a "Hong Kong buyer," but it turns out that he wasn't too difficult to track down. The buyer has been confirmed as Joseph Lau, majority owner of property firm Chinese Estates Holdings and the 114th richest person in the world, according to Forbes, with a net worth of more than $10 billion.

Turns out that buying ultra-expensive jewels for his two daughters, 7-year-old Josephine and 13-year-old Zoe, is kinda Lau's thing.

Only a day before at a Christie's auction in Geneva, an "anoymous bidder" snatched up a 16.08-carat pink diamond for $28.5 million, dubbing it "Sweet Josephine."

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/expensive_diamond3.jpg

According to CNN, in 2009, Lau purchased a 7.03-carat blue diamond for $9.48 million, naming it the "Star of Josephine." She's never going to need to wear that cheap piece of garbage ever again.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/expensive_diamond6.jpg

In case you are worried about him playing favorites, last November, Zoe received a 9.75-carat blue diamond, bought by her father for $32.6 million and creatively named "The Zoe Diamond," along with a Burmese ruby and diamond brooch weighing 10.10 carats purchased for $8.43 million and named "The Zoe Red."

We have no idea what Lau has in store for their sweet sixteens.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/expensive_diamond4.jpg

But it will be extravagant, back in 2006, Lau purchased an iconic Andy Warhol portrait of Mao Zedong for $16.4 million. He also reportedly built Hong Kong's tallest retail complex and named it "The ONE" after an ex-girlfriend.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/lau_mao.jpg

Yesterday we reported on Liu Yiqian, a Chinese taxi driver turned billionaire, who purchased a Modigliani nude for $170.4 million at auction. Expect to see more and more of these kind of stories in the future. A recent Forbes survey found that China now has 596 billionaires -- 715 if you count Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan -- surpassing the United States.

[Images via NetEase]

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Alex Linder in News on Nov 13, 2015 3:45 PM

[GeneChing]

This is somewhat random but it came up in a Kung Fu newsfeed search, so what the heck? Figured I'd add it.



Golden touch: Global Group founder Johnny Hon talks Kung Fu Panda, the Northern Powerhouse, Glenn Close and human rights (http://www.cityam.com/228805/golden-touch)
16 November 2015 2:29am
by Harriet Green

http://www.cityam.com/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_article_body_image/public/main/articles/Johnny%20Hon.jpg
Johnny Hon: It’s not easy to say what’s right and what’s wrong

Did you sell sweets to all your classmates? I ask Johnny Hon, interjecting as he talks about his childhood. “Yes, I did actually,” he chuckles, before moving back to explaining how he never took money from his parents after the age of 18, and ended up selling second-hand cars to fund his education. “They taught me how to be independent from an early age; to be open-minded and appreciate people from all sections of society.”

It wasn’t that the Global Group founder’s family were ever short of a few bob – he came to the UK aged 12 to study at Uppingham School before attending King’s College London and Cambridge University. But spotting business opportunities and making the most of them seems to have been hard-wired into Hon.

After a stint in private banking and forex in the Middle East, he began a PhD in psychiatry. It was while at Cambridge that he started to build his business, putting Chinese entrepreneurs in touch with students who could help them create business plans. Now, Global Group’s range is vast, and Hon’s business interests almost endless. He is (and this is just a current selection) the executive chairman of his own company and Gate Ventures, which he also founded, a senior consultant for Pearl Oriental Oil, a fellow of the University of Buckingham, an adviser to the Chinese and Armenian governments, director of Infinity Creative Media, chairman of his own film company, and vice chairman of Sotheby’s International Realty. His financial-based interests alone stretch from a stake in a lottery in China to a bank in the Comoros Islands and an online gambling firm in London. But he’s a benefactor of the Duke of Edinburgh Award World Fellowship, and funds scholarships at Oxford, Cambridge and Peking Universities. “I did think about pursuing medicine. But I realised that making money means you can do a lot more good than just one doctor.”

Hon has always worked between Hong Kong and London, and says that the aim of his firm is to “bridge gaps. Historically, we’ve got more of a connection with Britain than with other Western nations. The US sees China as competition; the UK sees the opportunity for trade. Lots of Chinese people know British brands.” Hon mentions the Northern Powerhouse, explaining that one of the reasons it’s such an appealing prospect to the Chinese is that “northern cities are premium brand names in China because of football teams. Chinese people love football like they love the royal family.”

BAMBOO BLIND
But the entrepreneur is also aware of the differences between the two nations – and he puts a lot of it down to geography. “The thing is, the Western culture started around the Mediterranean. That’s a peaceful sea. The Yangtze river isn’t like that: it floods all the time, it kills people. In the West, the individual became the most important thing because people had more time to think about the self, their relationship to god. That didn’t happen in places of flooding.”

This thinking extends to human rights. He mentions the trolley problem, the ethical dilemma which states that there are five people tied down to a railway track with a train bearing down on them. You have the power to switch the train off the track, but then realise that there’s one person standing in the sidings. Who do you save? “In China, people would always choose to save the many over the one person. It would be out of the question to do anything else. When we’re talking about human rights, we need to remember that, to lots of people, some are more important than others. It’s not easy to say what’s right and what’s wrong.”

MUSICAL OVERTONES
Understandably, Hon is also accommodative of different ways of doing business. A good example, he says, is agreeing on and delivering a contract. “In the West, you sign a contract and it’s set in stone. In the East, it is perfectly common for a contract to undergo ongoing renegotiation. And it’s seen as a good thing to do – it keeps the spirit in the agreement.”

And his open-mindedness helps him to spot opportunity. One of the nifty approaches he is currently taking is “repackaging” brands. “Littlewoods, for instance, may not be so popular here anymore, but it’s a brand that could work in China. There’s a rapidly expanding middle class who have the same appetite for knowledge and desire for quality as the British – but the products and services aren’t available.”

He’s already acting on this when it comes to TV. A confessed arts buff with several film executive producer roles under his belt, Hon’s set his sights on a UK-made series, teaming up with Lord Grade, former chairman of the BBC. “In my view, TV is done a lot better here. The Chinese all watch Kung Fu Panda. It’s not like the Chinese can’t draw pandas, it’s because the animation is better.” And Hon is also taking the musical to China. “The musical is a new concept in China, and I think it will be very popular.” Again, the key is to be savvy enough to dress up something for a new audience: we might be Lloyd Webber-jaded, but there’s no reason for other nations to be. A couple of weeks ago, Hon attended the London launch of Sunset Boulevard, which Gate Ventures invested in. When we met, just beforehand, he was “extremely excited – and a lot of that is because I love Glenn Close.”

If anything, Hon sees China’s slowing economy as a golden opportunity. “The rate that property prices in China are rising is slowing. I believe that’s a good thing, long-term. And in the more immediate future, when the economy isn’t going as fast, entertainment products always work best.” Because of this, he is looking to invest increasingly across entertainment, technology and e-commerce businesses. “Think about Hollywood during the Great Depression. Really, people just need to be able to dream a bit.”

CV JOHNNY HON
Company name: Global Group

Founded: 1997

Number of staff: 80

Turnover: $100m a year

Job title: Executive chairman

Age: 44

Born: Hong Kong

Lives: Hong Kong, but I come to London every month

Studied: King’s College London, BSc in biomedical sciences; SOAS, MA in Korean studies; Cambridge University, PhD in psychiatry

Drinking: Fine wines

Eating: Steak

Currently reading: No time for reading currently

Favourite Business Book: Don’t really have one

Talents: Strategy, diplomacy and high net worth client management

Heroes: Nelson Mandela

First ambition: To build something

Motto: “Never give up. Never surrender.”

Awards: Medal of Honour from the government of Hong Kong

[GeneChing]

This thread is the new barometer of the waking dragon. :cool:


NOVEMBER 18, 2015
Hong Kong Billionaire Is Offering $180,000,000 To Any Man Willing To Marry His Daughter (http://bmwmblog.com/honk-kong-billionaire-is-offering-180000000-to-any-man-willing-to-marry-his-daughter/)
HK Billionaire Offers HK500mil to changes His Daugther Sexual Orientation

http://bmwmblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/HK-Billionaire-Offers-HK500mil-to-changes-His-Daugther-Sexual-Orientation.jpg

You might have read about Cecil Chao before, he is a Chinese billionaire who made his fortune through a company called Cheuk Nang Holdings Ltd a huge real estate conglomerate that focuses on the development of luxury high rises and trophy properties in Hong Kong.

He is known for making outlandish statements such as the time he was quoted by the Hong Kong media for saying he had bedded over 10,000 women in his lifetime. Most famous of all his public announcements was in 2012 when he offered $60,000,000 USD in the form of a “dowry” (which is a parental transfer of money or property) to whichever man could turn his daughter strait. He came back in 2014 upping the ante to $120,000,000 USD. And now he’s back to say the bounty is now $180,000,000 to who ever can get the job done.

The way I’m looking at it is like this I can get a non stop flight from Texas to Hong Kong on American Airlines for $1,561, or try Hong Kong’s own airline Cathay Pacific for $1,699. If I wanted to save a few bucks I saw some connecting flights on United and Delta Airlines for right around $1,000. That’s approximately 120,000 – 180,000 times your money. I don’t think anything in life really offered you that type of return on your investment, and if all else fails well I know I’ve spent $1,000 on dumber things before.

May the best man win!

http://bmwmblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/73077663_020827751-1.jpg
(The chick in the bow tie is your competition.)

[GeneChing]

This is exactly the trend that inspired me to start this here thread.

Tuhao = 土豪


The Rise of the Tuhao (http://thediplomat.com/2015/08/the-rise-of-the-tuhao/)
The same group of entitled nouveau riche that gives China a bad name abroad is reviled at home as well.
By David Volodzko
August 03, 2015

http://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/thediplomat_2015-08-03_12-50-32-386x257.jpg

Zheng Bijian, author of the phrase “China’s peaceful rise,” once wrote that as China’s development wins the attention of the world, it becomes increasingly important to understand its path. He explained that “economic growth alone does not provide a full picture of a country’s development. China has a population of 1.3 billion. Any small difficulty in its economic or social development, spread over this vast group, could become a huge problem.”

These words were penned 10 years ago, and in the decade since China’s social development has been stunning: brimming with ambition, globally instrumental, and touching the highest peaks of human progress. But at the very top of Chinese society, the peaks are narrow and the valleys below are deep and wide. One of the difficulties in China’s recent development is the emergence of a new social class of economic elites known as tuhao. These are China’s nouveau riche, though the term itself means something more offensive, and deservedly so.

“Tuhao” comprises the characters for “earth” and “powerful” (I prefer the translation “dirty rich”) and is an ancient reference to oppressive landlords that was given new life in 2013 when a joke went viral on the microblogging site Weibo. In the joke, a rich but unhappy young man asks a Buddhist monk for advice, to which the monk, cognizant of the young man’s wealth, replies, “Let’s be friends!” Since then, the term has been adopted into common use; the Oxford English Dictionary added “tuhao” to its 2014 edition.

Also, check out what I just posted in our Buddhist-life-release (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68129-Buddhist-life-release&p=1288938#post1288938) thread.

[PalmStriker]

ALIBABA : http://www.thestreet.com/story/13326990/1/alibaba-wants-to-completely-own-china-s-version-of-youtube.html

[GeneChing]

The paradoxical thing about Chinese Tycoons is, of course, China is still communist.


Chinese executives keep going missing (http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/27/investing/china-missing-executives/index.html)
By Sophia Yan @sophia_yan

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/151127112935-hk-central-780x439.jpg

Top company executives in China keep vanishing, and some never return to their posts.
This week, it was the CEO of the Hong Kong arm of one of China's largest brokerages who disappeared; a few months ago, the president of a giant bank.

Once they go missing, there's no telling when they'll resurface. In some cases, they show up again -- perhaps months later, and offering little explanation.
In others, state media report that the executive has been caught up in a government investigation, into insider dealing or bribery, for example. Few details are ever revealed.
Some of these cases appear to be linked to a campaign against corruption launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013. But lately, more seem to be tied to investigations related to China's summer stock crash. Officials have been casting around for people to blame for the wild market swings.
Either way, the bizarre case of China's missing executives has observers puzzled. Here's a look at four recent examples of unexplained absences:

1. Guotai Junan International
The Hong Kong subsidiary of a major state-owned Chinese brokerage reported on Monday that its CEO, Yim Fung, was missing. Shares tumbled 12% after Guotai Junan International said that it had been unable to reach Yim since last week, and had no idea of his whereabouts.
Local media reports suggest that Yim is being detained in connection with the investigation of a senior government official -- Yao Gang, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country's stock market regulator. Yao was general manager at Guotai Junan from 1999 to 2002, according to the CSRC website.
Neither the company, nor the government, has said anything about why Yim has disappeared.
Related: Giant Chinese brokerage can't find its CEO

2. China Minsheng Bank
Early this year, a respected financial news magazine in China reported that Minsheng's president, Mao Xiaofeng, couldn't be reached after he was detained to help with an investigation. Then, in February, the bank announced in an exchange filing that he had resigned for "personal reasons."
Months later, there's still no clarity or confirmation on what exactly happened to Mao, and Minsheng's shares have plummeted 20% this year.
Several other financial executives have been caught up in these government probes. Chinese state media reported that Zhang Yun, president of Agricultural Bank of China, one of the world's largest banks, was detained to assist officials with an investigation.
Xu Xiang, a high profile fund manager with Shanghai-based Zexi Investment, has also been arrested and is being investigated for alleged insider trading, reported state media, citing the Ministry of Public Security.
Related: Top China banker implicated in corruption probe

3. China Aircraft
CEO Poon Ho Man resigned with immediate effect in a letter received June 17 by the company board, according to a description of the letter in a June 19 exchange filing. He had been on leave for a month, and gave no reasons for his decision to quit.
His resignation letter also made no reference to media reports linking him to a government investigation into China Southern Airlines, one of the company's customers. And China Aircraft seems to know very little.
"Except for news reported in the media, the Board does not have any information on the status of the alleged investigations, nor has the Board received any notice that Mr. Poon is under any kind of investigation," China Aircraft said in the filing.
The company also said it had been unable to contact Poon since receiving his resignation, and was "unable to verify the source of information of the news in the media." Its shares plunged 19% on June 19, and the stock has lost 26% so far this year.

4. Hanergy
Hanergy chairman Li Hejun, once China's richest man, failed to show up for the company's annual shareholder meeting in May. The meeting was just getting started as Hanergy shares began plunging, losing 47% in just one hour. That wiped $18.6 billion off the company's market value.
Trading was eventually suspended pending an announcement "containing inside information," but the company hasn't clarified much since, and dealing is still halted.
Plenty of analysts were already skeptical about Hanergy's astonishing rise -- the stock had soared 625% in 2015 before the crash. They were concerned about market manipulation and inflated profits, particularly after the company said 60% of sales came from its parent company.
A company spokesperson later said Li was attending the opening of Hanergy's clean energy exhibition in Beijing instead of addressing shareholders. In late May, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission said in a statement it was conducting a formal investigation into Hanergy, but gave no details.
The statements only raised more questions, especially when it was revealed in exchange filings that Li himself had upped his bet that Hanergy shares would fall.
Things took an even stranger turn when, in a rare speech in September, Li denied shorting Hanergy stock himself, and instead blamed outside investors for malicious short selling, causing the company's spectacular fall.

[GeneChing]

I thought Dr. No was the Chinese Bond villain...


Woman spends 3.5 million yuan on 13.35 kg of gold bars (http://en.people.cn/n/2015/1202/c98649-8984581.html)
(People's Daily Online) 08:48, December 02, 2015

http://en.people.cn/NMediaFile/2015/1202/FOREIGN201512020852000525352858175.jpg

A woman spent 3.5 million yuan on 13.55 kg of gold bars Sunday in northeast China's Jilin province. It has been the 7th year for her to keep buying the gold.
The Monkey Year gold bars issued by China Gold Coin Corporation officially entered the market of Jilin province Sunday. With a price of 267 yuan per gram, 90 kg gold bars were sold out immediately.
"The gold sales in the past 10 years shows that people like to collect the gold, especially gold bars," said a staff member of the Jilin Gold Coin Corporation. With expectations for the Fed’s decision to increase the interest rate, the decline in International gold price accelerated in November, hitting a new low in six years. As of Nov. 28, the international gold price reached $1,057.88 an ounce and the domestic spot price of gold hit 219.2 yuan a gram. Therefore, the New Year gold bullion price also hit a new low since 2010. The relative low price created a new round of gold buying spree.
The staff member who sold the gold to the woman said the woman is around 50 years of age. It has been the 7th year for her to buy the New Year gold bullion. Last year she bought 10 kg of gold worth 2.7 million yuan; she bought the largest amount of gold this year with a value of more than 3.5 million yuan.

[GeneChing]

I'm trying to imagine what would happen if major tycoons went missing in the U.S. Like what would happen if Trump went missing now? ;)


Have you seen this man? China's Warren Buffett gone missing (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/12/11/guo_guangchang_goes_missing.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/guoguangchang3.jpg

Reportedly last seen carried away by the strong hand of the law in a Shanghai airport, 48 year-old billionaire Guo Guangchang has seemingly disappeared. It is unclear if Guo is being detained, but he has been unreachable since Sunday, as his phone has been shut off.
Guo is the chairman of Fosun, one of the largest private investment firms in China. He has a net worth of $7 billion and is the 11th richest man in the country, according to Forbes. He's the same guy that bought the One Chase Manhattan Plaza skyscraper in 2013 for a cool $725 million.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/chase.jpg

Earlier this year, a Shanghai court filing alleges Guo had inappropriate connections to Wang Zongnan, the former chairman of a state-owned enterprise who is now imprisoned for the misuse of 195 million yuan, reports Caixin.
Since 2013, Guo has repeatedly fought against accusations that he is being investigated for corruption.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/judgejudy1.jpg

In an e-mail provided by Reuters, Fosun claims: "[We] never sought to inappropriately benefit from cooperation with [Wang's] Friendship Group and never delivered benefits to Wang Zongnan."
In a text message, Fosun says they are "handling the situation." In the meantime, the company has halted trading in shares of its listed units, just in case.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/guoguangchang.jpg

Of course, it is certainly possible that Guo simply hurt his back while swimming, but it is starting to seem likely that the man known as "China's Warren Buffett" may be the latest victim in Chinese President Xi Jinping's never-ending fight against corruption.
By Mary DeMay

[GeneChing]

Shares plunge after 'China's Warren Buffett' caught in probe (http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/13/investing/fosun-shares-fall-guo-guangchang/)
by Sophia Yan @sophia_yan
December 14, 2015: 5:26 AM ET

Why are China's rich facing government scrutiny?

Shares of a Chinese conglomerate plunged Monday in Hong Kong after the company announced last week that its billionaire chairman had been caught up in a government probe.
Fosun International shares tumbled 10%, while Fosun Pharmaceutical lost around 12%. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index was down 0.7%.

Both companies were suspended from trading last Friday after its chairman, Guo Guangchang, was reported to be missing. The parent company later confirmed that Guo was assisting authorities in an investigation.
The firms are linked to Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group, which has interests in everything from real estate to entertainment, and recently bought the luxury resort chain Club Med. It also owns a stake in Cirque du Soleil. In 2013, it bought the landmark One Chase Manhattan Plaza skyscraper.
Guo is China's 17th richest man, with an estimated wealth of about $7.8 billion, according to the Hurun Report, which publishes a ranking of China's wealthy. The billionaire has described himself as a student of famed investor Warren Buffett.
Photos surfaced on social media Monday that appeared to show Guo speaking at the company's annual meeting. While the photos appear to be from today, Fosun hasn't confirmed his attendance. Calls to the company went unanswered.
A string of top Chinese executives have mysteriously disappeared this year, as officials crack down on the financial sector, casting around for individuals to blame for the country's summer stock market crash. Once individuals go missing, there's no telling when they'll resurface; if they do, there's often scant information about what happened.
The strange case of China's missing CEOs underscores the murky nature of China's legal system, where confessions are sometimes coerced, and trials can happen behind closed doors. Since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, a widening anti-corruption campaign has swept up scores of executives and businessmen in a similarly opaque way.
China's largest brokerage firm, Citic Securities, said last week it wasn't able to get in touch with two top executives. Citic had previously disclosed that the firm, and a number of its executives, were under investigation by Chinese market regulators.
In late November, the Hong Kong subsidiary of another major Chinese brokerage said its CEO, Yim Fung, had been missing since November 18, and appointed a replacement. The company, Guotai Junan, hasn't said anything since, and Yim's whereabouts are still unknown.
Zhang Xun, president of the Agricultural Bank of China, and well-known fund manager Xu Xiang have also been detained, Chinese state media have reported.
Hundreds of people have been arrested for alleged rumor-mongering following the wild stock market swings, including prominent journalists, and even officials with China's securities regulator.

CNNMoney (Hong Kong)
First published December 13, 2015: 10:54 PM ET

Why are China's rich facing government scrutiny? Because even with China's economic boom, it's still a communist nation.

[GeneChing]

Billionaire Guo Guangchang reappears, acts as if he never disappeared (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/12/15/guo_guangchang_reappears.php)

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The disappearance last week of the 11th richest man in China, Guo Guangchang, attracted attention from major international news agencies, such as the BBC, CNN, the Guardian, and the Wall Street Journal. The billionaire abruptly reappeared at a Shanghai company event yesterday without acknowledging that he had gone missing.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/guoguangchang.jpg

It was first speculated that he was detained by police for graft, as witnesses claimed they saw him dragged away by police at a Shanghai airport.
On Friday, Fosun, Guangchang's investment firm, affirmed that Guangchang was with police, saying he was "aiding an investigation." It is common in China for officials to first claim they are "assisting investigations" before they are officially named as suspects.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/guoguangchang3.jpg

Guo appeared only briefly at the Fosun strategy meeting at the Kerry Hotel Pudong yesterday morning. People there said he didn't address his disappearance nor the investigation, and that he left before the meeting was over.
There were no police seen at the hotel, but professional security officers kept reporters away from the ballroom. Nobody has mentioned if the security was wearing smiley stickers.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/fosun-stockdrop.png

Guo's whereabouts are once again unknown. Following his disappearing act, the share price of Fosun International Ltd dropped nearly 10% and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical fell from 12% to 3.8%, underscoring the uncertainty of the situation.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/guangchang-missing1.png

By Mary DeMay
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Dec 15, 2015 1:00 PM

Suspicious?

[GeneChing]

Internet tycoons are weird all around the world.


LOOK: Chinese internet tycoons get dressed up for corporate CNY galas (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/01/21/chinese_new_year_gala_tycoon_costumes.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/jack_ma_costume.jpg

As part of Chinese New Year celebrations, those at the very top of some of China's largest companies will be dressing up to appear as the star of the company gala. Here's a selection of some of the best outfits from previous years.
A frequent staple at the annual gala are figures from Chinese history. Here is Giant Interactive president Shi Yuzhu's tribute to the Jade Emperor.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/giantinteractive_shi_yuzhu_jadeemperor.jpg

And Xiaomi founder Lei Jun's took the role of Caishen, the Chinese deity of wealth.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/lei_jun_caishen.jpg

Netease CEO Ding Lei turned up as a "Chinese zombie" to his company's event in 2014.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/netease_ding_lei_zombie.jpg

Baidu chairman Robin Li once masqueraded as Zorro back in 2012.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/baidu_robin_li_zorro.jpg

He also happens to be a pretty awesome drummer.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/robin_li_drummer.jpg

But despite the stiff competition, the man to steal the show is everyone's favorite internet tycoon Jack Ma, who delighted audiences when he turned up in a lovely frilly dress.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/jack_ma_drag.jpg

Who is the fairest of them all? You decide. We just hope that 2016 will live up to expectations.
[Images via DFIC / Xinhua]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Jan 21, 2016 11:00 PM

[GeneChing]

WATCH: Self-made billionaire Zhang Xin to Christiane Amanpour: 'I don't know how much I'm worth' (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/01/22/zhang_xin_interview.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/zhang_xin.jpg

On the sidelines of the Davos WEF conference, Soho China chief exec Zhang Xin took a moment with CNN to contemplate the state of the country's economy and discuss being richer than Donald Trump -- sort of.
China's favorite rags to riches success story, Zhang came from inauspicious beginnings, working as a 14-year-old in a Hong Kong textiles factory. But after being accepted to Cambridge University, she would start her considerably lucrative career with the Goldman Sachs & Travelers Group. In 1995, she and husband Pan Shiyi founded real-estate developer Soho China. Known for developing properties designed by the likes of Yamamoto and Zaha Hadid, Soho has made profits of nearly $2 billion.
Referred to as the "it couple" of China, Zhang and Pan are also known for following Baha'i faith and preaching of the country's need for spiritual unity.
Zhang apparently has a talent for self-deprecation, calling her past self "annoying" and "very arrogant."
In her interview with Christiane Amanpour, Zhang modestly hems and haws at her wealth being compared to the likes of Oprah Winfrey. "I don't know the numbers, actually," she smiles. Smooth player, that one.
Watch the interview below:

https://www.facebook.com/camanpour/videos/10156505376045370/

(btw, Forbes has her at $2.5 billion)
[Video via Facebook]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Jan 22, 2016 6:30 PM

I don't know how much I'm worth either. But it ain't $2.5 bill, that's for sure. :o

[GeneChing]

...definitely Tuhao material. :rolleyes:


Secret Chinese documents leaked to the US all lead back to semi-naked women and a Ferrari (http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-02-05/secret-chinese-documents-leaked-us-all-lead-back-semi-naked-women-and-ferrari)
PRI's The World
February 05, 2016 · 2:30 PM EST
By Bradley Campbell (follow)

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Ling Jihua, newly elected vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), pauses while attending the opening ceremony of the CPPCC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing March 3, 2013. Credit: Jason Lee/Reuters


In modern China, it's totally possible to have top Communist Party officials and Ferrari driving playboys in the same family.

Totally possible.

But sometimes when the lines blur, the results can be ugly.

Take the case of Ling Wangchen and his brother, Ling Jihua.

Ling Jihua was a top Chinese leader. And he’s believed to have handed over top secret documents to his brother Wangchen who, it is believed, handed them over to individuals in the US.

“So what happened was Ling Jihua’s son was driving very late in the evening in a Ferrari that he somehow managed to purchase, despite his parents’ nominally modest salaries as government officials,” says Isaac Stone Fish with Foreign Policy. “He crashed the Ferrari with two half-naked, women in the car.”

The crash injured the women, and killed the son. Officials gave the women hush money. Ling Jihua hoped it would be the end of it. Not so, according to Stone Fish. “Ling Jihua’s enemies used this to peg him on corruption,” he says. “He was deposed and arrested.”

Wangchen flew to the US and passed those documents along, ultimately to the FBI/CIA. According to reports, the documents appear to include nuclear secrets and embarrassing facts about the communist government.

Stone Fish says he likely did it in an effort to protect his brother. “Wangchen could trade the information back to Beijing for perhaps more lenient sentencing or a get out of jail free card,” he says.

We don’t know where the brothers are right now. Jihau may be in a Chinese jail cell, or a high-end villa. Wangchen is believed to still be in the US. Stone Fish thinks the whole story could be trumpted to upwardly mobile Chinese citizens as a warning to not be so unbridled with wealth and greed.

“I think if there was one great takeaway for any top Chinese officials listening it’s this: Keep your children in line.”

[GeneChing]

Who hands out a quarter of a million dollars worth of Rolexes from a plastic bag?

“Instant noodle billionaire” Li Ruipeng, that's who.



Tony Abbott and other Liberals took Rolexes they thought were fake (http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/feb/10/liberals-took-rolex-and-other-designer-watches-assuming-they-were-were-fake?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1)
Tony Abbott, Stuart Robert and Ian Macfarlane were given $250,000 worth of watches out of a plastic bag by Chinese instant noodle billionaire Li Ruipeng

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3635075a4c83598dbc97a1af076979fbdf7fd2ac/102_327_4310_2586/master/4310.jpg
Tony Abbott and Ian Macfarlane are among the Liberal MPs who accepted designer watches out of a plastic bag from the ‘instant noodle billionaire’ Li Ruipeng. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

Elle Hunt @mlle_elle
Tuesday 9 February 2016 20.01 EST Last modified on Wednesday 10 February 2016 04.19 EST

A group of Liberal party MPs, including the former prime minister and then federal opposition leader Tony Abbott, are under scrutiny over $250,000 worth of designer watches they were given by a visiting billionaire from China almost three years ago – that were assumed to be fakes.

Among them is the embattled MP Stuart Robert, who was then the opposition’s defence, science, technology and personnel spokesman, and is now under intense political pressure over a controversial trip to China in 2014.

“Instant noodle billionaire” Li Ruipeng, the chair of the Li Guancheng Investment Management Group, gave Abbott, Robert and the then opposition industry spokesman, Ian Macfarlane, designer watches out of a plastic bag at an informal dinner at Parliament House in June 2013 as a goodwill gesture.

There were also watches for Abbott’s wife, Margie, and Robert’s wife, Chantelle, who were not present at the dinner – but not Abbott’s then chief of staff, Peta Credlin, who was.

(The then Queensland minister Rob Molhoek also received a Cartier Ballon Bleu bracelet watch, valued at $23,400, from Guancheng in 2013 – the most expensive gift received by any Newman government official in that financial year, and surrendered by Molhoek to the Ministerial Services Branch.)

Macfarlane, assuming his Rolex was a fake worth between $300 and $500, declared the gift with the clerk of the House of Representatives but kept it (“and wore it occasionally,” says the Herald Sun).

Macfarlane had the watch valued in Sydney after the September federal election, after the then Liberal candidate for Moore, Ian Goodenough, favourably compared it to his own, genuine Rolex.

Macfarlane was told his watch was worth about $40,000 – and his had obviously not been as expensive as those given to Abbott and Margie Abbott.

Though the clerk told him he was entitled to keep it, he returned it to Li Ruipeng’s company and alerted Liberal “fixer” Tony Nutt, who – the Australian Financial Review reports – ordered the immediate collection of the watches so that they could be returned.

Robert and Abbott complied – though a spokesman for Abbott denied it was on Nutt’s advice.

The spokesman told Guardian Australia that the two watches given to him were declared as well, though Abbott had also taken them to be fake. It wasn’t so much the gift, as the way it was given, he said.

“My understanding is that they were handed over in a plastic bag, as has been reported, and I think everybody was of the same view,” he said.

“They were declared in the normal way. As with most parliamentarians, it’s better to over declare than under declare but I believe Mr Abbott was of the understanding that they were fake, given the way that they were handed over, and, when it became apparent that they weren’t, they were handed over straight away.”

Asked by Guardian Australia whether Robert had, like Macfarlane, assumed at first the watch was a fake, a spokesman said there was “nothing to add to the story that’s not already out there” but confirmed that it had been returned.

Macfarlane’s office has been contacted for comment.

Less than a year later in August 2014, Robert, the then assistant defence minister, took what he says was a “personal” trip to Beijing with friend and Liberal Party donor Paul Marks to celebrate a mining deal.

He is now fighting to save his ministerial career as Labor accuses the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, of failing to enforce his own standards.

Phillip Coorey writes in the Australian Financial Review that Roberts “should have learned from the watches to tread warily in China”.

The senior public servant Martin Parkinson will determine whether Robert breached the ministerial code of conduct with his trip to China.

[GeneChing]

FEBRUARY 22, 2016 ISSUE
The Golden Generation
Why China’s super-rich send their children abroad. (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/22/chinas-rich-kids-head-west)
BY JIAYANG FAN

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A reality show, “Ultra Rich Asian Girls of Vancouver,” chronicles the lives of Weymi Cho (left) and a group of friends.
CREDIT PHOTOGRAPH BY ANGIE SMITH FOR THE NEW YORKER

On a crisp Sunday morning in November, Weymi Cho picked me up at my hotel, in downtown Vancouver, in her new car, a white Maserati GranTurismo with a red leather interior. She had slept only two hours the night before. A new karaoke machine had been installed in her apartment, a four-million-dollar condo with a view of the city’s harbor, and she and some friends had spent the night singing and drinking Veuve Clicquot. Weymi is twenty years old and slim, with large eyes and waist-length hair that cascaded, on this occasion, over a silk Dior blouse. She has a reserved, almost aristocratic air. It was a little past ten, and we were going shopping.

Holt Renfrew, Vancouver’s equivalent of Barneys, is one of Weymi’s customary weekend haunts, though she is aware of its limitations. “It doesn’t compare to Vegas, where there is obviously a better selection,” she explained as we drove there. Weymi speaks English with a subtle but noticeable accent, and was relieved when I switched to Mandarin. Her speech was punctuated by European brand names, which functioned as a kind of currency. A maid’s monthly wages, she said, were probably the price of a pair of Roger Vivier satin pumps. A night out can cost half a suède Birkin bag. On Weymi’s last birthday, in March, she’d spent more than two Fendi totes—around four thousand dollars—on drinks in less than an hour.

In the store, Weymi spotted a former classmate from a Vancouver fashion institute, who was now working as a salesgirl there. She talked about the attitude of Chinese customers. “They treat this place like a supermarket,” she said. “A three-thousand-dollar outfit is like a carton of milk.” Another salesgirl joined in and lamented that such profligacy negated any sense of exclusivity. Weymi agreed. “I can’t even look at Chanel bags anymore,” she said at one point. “Everyone and their auntie now has a boy bag.”

Weymi moved to Vancouver at the age of fourteen, to attend boarding school. Her family owns a successful semiconductor business in Taiwan, where she grew up, but her parents are from the mainland. She and her sister attended an international school, which prepared them for studies abroad, and she spent summers travelling in America or Australia. “My dad always wanted our English to be strong,” she told me. “The plan was always to send us out West.”

The West is the plan for many of China’s new rich. In the past decade, they have swept into cities like New York, London, and Los Angeles, snapping up real estate and provoking anxieties about inequality and globalized wealth. Rich Chinese have become a fixture in the public imagination, the way rich Russians were in the nineteen-nineties and rich people from the Gulf states were in the decades before that. The Chinese presence in Vancouver is particularly pronounced, thanks to the city’s position on the Pacific Rim, its pleasant climate, and its easy pace of life. China’s newly minted millionaires see the city as a haven in which to place not only their money but, increasingly, their offspring, who come there to get an education, to start businesses, and to socialize.

The children of wealthy Chinese are known as fuerdai, which means “rich second generation.” In a culture where poverty and thrift were long the norm, their extravagances have become notorious. Last year, the son of China’s richest man posted pictures online of his dog wearing two gold-plated Apple Watches, one on each front paw. On Web forums, citizens complain that fuerdai are “flaunting what they haven’t earned” and that “their grotesque displays are a poison to the work ethic of Chinese society.” President Xi Jinping has spoken of the need to “guide the younger generation of private-enterprise owners to think where their money comes from and live a positive life,” and the government recently held an educational retreat for seventy children of billionaires, who were given a crash course in traditional Chinese values and social responsibility.

Yet fuerdai continue to fascinate. Some of the most popular Chinese TV dramas in recent years—such as “Noble Bride: Regretless Love” and “Ice and Fire of Youth”—have plots centering on fuerdai, whose love lives enhance or endanger the family fortune. There is also a fuerdai reality show: “Ultra Rich Asian Girls of Vancouver,” in which Weymi features.

The show, filmed in Mandarin and English, is broadcast online and is watched avidly by Chinese people worldwide. It follows the lives of half a dozen young women in disorienting, whip-fast edits of bling and scornful gazes. The women spend wildly to prove their status, but affect disdain for the ostentation of others. Season 1 ends with a woman being accused of ghastly crimes—attempting to pass off fake Hermès bags and wearing non-designer attire. Season 2 picks up in L.A., where two of the women are scoping out luxury houses.

Contempt for the nouveau riche is hardly limited to China, but the Chinese version is distinctive. Thanks to the legacy of Communism, almost all wealth is new wealth. There are no old aristocracies to emulate, no templates for how to spend. I asked some of the women on “Ultra Rich Asian Girls” about being the objects of both envy and censure. “In Web forums about the show, people are always, like, Why do they have to show off like that?” Weymi said with a shrug. “I don’t think I’m showing off. I’m just living my life.”

After shopping, Weymi and I went to the filming of the show’s second-season finale, in an upscale Thai restaurant that had been cleared for the occasion. We arrived early, and I chatted with the show’s creator, Kevin K. Li. Kevin, who is thirty-seven, was born in Vancouver to a Cantonese-speaking family and has worked for various broadcast networks in the city. He told me that he had envisaged the show as a mashup of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” his favorite program growing up, and the “Real Housewives” franchise. He said, “I figured, if I wanted to know the kind of deluxe lives these kids led, so would people in Canada and the U.S. and Asia.”

Casting the show was easy. Kevin shot a short promotional video in which a friend of a friend displayed a collection of bags and rode around in a Lamborghini. “It just went viral after a local media outlet picked it up,” he told me. People began bombarding him with requests for interviews. “The subject of fuerdai was just ripe for the time. Everyone is curious and everyone has something to say.”

Gradually, other members of the cast arrived at the restaurant—a parade of Helmut Lang, Alexander McQueen, and rose-gold iPhones. There was Diana, an economics and Asian-studies major at the University of British Columbia, who is twenty-three and has lived in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. A friend of hers from the university, Chelsea, was the only married woman in the cast. She had recently had her first child but seemed remarkably slender, and wore a pink baby-doll dress so elaborately feathered that, in combination with her towering Gucci heels, it gave her the appearance of a tottering baby ostrich. Ray, a finance student at U.B.C., had brought her boyfriend, who is also a fuerdai. Pam, at twenty-six, was the oldest of the group and the most reflective. As the women waited for the filming to start, they inspected one another’s outfits and accessories in forensic detail, but there was warmth as well as competitiveness in their manner, as if a life of continual consumption had fostered a kind of intimacy.

In this episode, Kevin would be onscreen, leading a roundtable discussion of the women’s experiences during the season. Contention arose about whether an actual round table was desirable. Chelsea was concerned that it covered up too much of the clothes—“We could just be wearing p.j.s underneath”—but Kevin’s eye was on the composition. “I know what look you are going for,” he said, nodding sympathetically. “But we have six pairs of legs, and it’s just going to look messy.”

The episode began with a champagne toast, after which Kevin posed a series of softball questions: How did Diana’s experiment living on a low-income budget for one day go? (Not well.) How was house-hunting in L.A.? (Nice mansions but all in the wrong areas.) Kevin asked the women about the potential difficulties of dating outside their class. There was a slight pause before Diana ventured, “It can be hard. I’ve done it before and it’s just”—she took a second to smooth out her bangs—“just awkward and uncomfortable for everyone.”

It was one of the few discordant moments in the discussion, but off-camera exchanges were more revealing. At one point, Diana announced, to no one in particular, “I am going to fix my face.” She’d heard about a recent Korean innovation in plastic surgery called 3-D molding. It was noninvasive, and involved a variety of braces and other devices designed to give the face the oval shape valued in Asian culture.

Weymi chimed in, saying, “Last time, when I went to Korea with my parents and my sister, I wanted to do it but my parents wouldn’t let me.”

“It’s a high-tech thing,” Diana said nonchalantly. “And very natural. Recovery can take only eight months.”

When I asked why she would endure such a process so young, Diana looked at me with a perplexity that bordered on pity.

“For a more beautiful face, of course,” she said. continued next post

[GeneChing]

About a third of China’s wealth belongs to just one per cent of the population. While China’s poor still inhabit a developing-world economy, a recent report found that the country now has more dollar billionaires than the U.S. does. “What is happening in China constitutes one of the most rapid emergences of wealth stratification in human history,” Jeffrey Winters, a politics professor at Northwestern University, told me. Winters, the author of the book “Oligarchy,” pointed out that China is one of a small number of countries—Russia is the other notable example—where extreme wealth stratification was eliminated in a Communist revolution and then later reëmerged. As in Russia, the sudden formation of a new oligarchy in China means that there are many super-rich people who are unfamiliar with the ways in which more entrenched aristocracies quietly protect their wealth. “No matter the culture or age, old money knows from long experience that it is far safer to be secluded and less seen,” Winters said. But new money, as Thorstein Veblen theorized, asserts itself through conspicuous consumption.

http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/160222_a19564-690.jpg
“I’m used to him finishing my sentences, but now he starts them, too.”

A study by the Bank of China and the Hurun Report found that sixty per cent of the country’s rich people were either in the process of moving abroad or considering doing so. (“Rich” was defined as being worth more than ten million yuan—around $1.5 million, a considerable fortune in China, though not stratospheric.) The Chinese are currently transferring money out of the country at a rate of around four hundred and fifty billion dollars a year. Most of that money has gone into real estate. According to the National Association of Realtors, Chinese buyers have become the largest source of foreign cash in the U.S. residential real-estate market.

Moneyed people leave China for various reasons. Some are worried about pollution. Others want to secure a good education for their children. Zhou Xueguang, a sociology professor at Stanford who received his bachelor’s degree in China, told me, “The competition in the Chinese school system is known to be brutal.” He went on, “There are only so many slots in good schools, and, at a certain level, it doesn’t matter how much money you have—you won’t be able to get in.” But, for affluent Chinese, the most basic reason to move abroad is that fortunes in China are precarious. The concerns go deeper than anxiety about the country’s slowing growth and turbulent stock market; it is very difficult to progress above a certain level in business without cultivating, and sometimes buying, the support of government officials, who are often ousted in anti-corruption sweeps instigated by rivals.

John Osburg, an anthropologist who spent years studying successful businessmen in Chengdu, told me that “there’s always a fear that, if the officials to whom they’re tied are brought down in an anti-corruption campaign, it could bring trouble for them, too, and lead to the seizure of their assets. There’s also a concern that business rivals who may be better connected to people in the government could use their ties to the party-state to bring down their competitors.” Some people he knew considered being on Forbes’s annual list of the richest people in China a curse. “The people on that list, for several years in a row, within a year or two of appearing, would be the target of some kind of criminal investigation or they’d be brought down in a corruption scandal,” he said.

In Vancouver, Weymi mentioned the pervasiveness of such anxieties: “Some of my relatives in Shanghai who are officials—all clean ones, of course—have told me stories about their friends who are fretting about the recent corruption crackdown. In China, it’s not just about what you did but what your network of relationships is.”

This is the first time that China’s rich have sought to emigrate in significant numbers. For thousands of years, the ruling class was proudly isolationist. “People now refer to China as an emerging economy, but it was the world’s dominant economy for two millennia, until 1810,” Shamus Khan, a sociology professor at Columbia who specializes in élites, told me. “Before that, the Chinese élite were very reserved and almost snobbish in their view of foreigners. They thought of the European élite as backward people who wanted to acquire culture from China.” Westerners made hazardous journeys to obtain prized commodities—porcelain, tea, silk—from the Middle Kingdom, which considered itself the center of the world.

Only in the nineteenth century did it become evident that the West had outstripped China, especially in the field of military technology. The Opium Wars, which were fought over China’s trade imbalance with Britain, resulted in a humiliating defeat and, ultimately, the end of the Empire. “China’s first encounter with globalization led to its collapse, one from which the country has never completely recovered,” Khan said. “The emergence of a new Chinese élite is China’s second moment of encounter with these global processes, and it’s interesting how certain dimensions are reversed.”

A party followed the filming, and went on until the early hours of the morning. Ray and her boyfriend pointed out a man who they said knew everybody. He owned an Aston Martin, they said—not in itself a distinction, as they were each considering buying one, but this particular car was modelled on the one that appeared in the latest James Bond movie, and was the only one of its kind in British Columbia.

This was Paul Oei, a loquacious fifty-year-old with bristly silver hair. When I introduced myself, he immediately took a selfie of us and posted it to Instagram—his usual manner of salutation, it turned out. Then he presented me with three business cards. The first identified him as the founder and C.E.O. of Organic Eco-Centre Corp., a composting company that is also a sponsor of the show; the second as the chair of the Miss Chinese Vancouver Pageant; the third as the head of Canadian Manu Immigration & Financial Services. Manu, which Oei founded a decade ago, provides advice on immigration strategies, investments, and assimilation for Chinese nationals moving abroad. For fuerdai seeking to establish themselves in Vancouver, he is the go-to fixer and an unofficial ambassador.

Oei said that so many Chinese want to move to Vancouver that Manu has many more potential customers than it can accommodate. “They buy properties without hesitation,” he said. “It’s very cheap in comparison to, let’s say, New York, L.A., Hong Kong, or Japan. First, it’s very economical to buy properties, and then, second, these folks have so much money, they want to diversify and put it in a country that is safe.”

I asked him if the people he works with could be considered China’s one per cent. “I wouldn’t say that they are the one per cent,” Oei replied. “More like between the one and two per cent.” His clients tend to have prospered in regional manufacturing cities, whereas the very wealthiest people are from Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. “The tippy top of the pyramid have political backing or connections,” he said. “They don’t need to export the wealth.”

A few days later, Oei took me to dinner at a Chinese restaurant that had opened recently in downtown Vancouver. Bentleys and Range Rovers in the parking lot and the expansive waterfront view gave me a good idea of the clientele, as did the Peking duck, which was eighty-eight dollars. Over aromatic shiitake soup, poured from tiny clay pots, Oei expanded on the aims and the attitudes of Chinese families who decide to put down roots in Canada. Early on, they often think of it as a temporary arrangement. “When they come, in the first month or two months they want to go back,” he said. “It’s too boring in the new world.” The turning point generally comes after a year and a half. “It’s usually the children, who graduate, and they say, ‘I love Canada. This is like heaven—I don’t want to go back.’ ” continued next post

[GeneChing]

The owner of the restaurant, Hu Yan, stopped by our table to say hello to Oei. A woman in her mid-forties, with weatherbeaten cheekbones and an efficient demeanor, she had been a successful restaurateur in the northern city of Xi’an and had come to Vancouver two years earlier. When I asked her how she had made the decision to move, she smiled and shook her head. “My husband was in Vancouver on vacation, and his buddies dragged him to a few open houses,” she said. “The next thing I know, we are signing the deed to property in the city.” Even though it was an expensive purchase, she didn’t feel that she was making a commitment to the city. It just seemed like insurance against the vagaries of the Chinese economy.

What made her think about staying was her eleven-year-old son. She told me that he was currently in L.A. for a junior golf tournament and that she was making plans to gradually move East for him. With some pride, Hu explained her plan to open restaurants in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and, ultimately, New York. I asked her why New York, and she looked at me with surprise. “For my son, of course. The Northeast is where all the best universities are, and that’s where he’ll be living one day.”

Hu’s priorities are typical of her generation, China’s first wave of entrepreneurs. Having amassed vast amounts of capital in the transition to a market economy, they can afford to bring up their children in a new atmosphere of privilege, and the legacy of the one-child policy gives the beam of parental expectation an especially tight focus. Furthermore, the memory of poverty and backwardness is ever-present in the collective consciousness. I remembered something Ray had told me: “The poorer your parents were when they were young, the more they want a better environment for their kids.” The desire to have a Western-educated child is spurred by considerations of prestige as much as by practicalities. Also relevant is Oei’s observation that his clients aren’t the richest or the best-connected people in China; they want their children to have access to the cultural and political capital that is unavailable to them. Underpinning the discussion of fuerdai in China is a national apprehension about the future élite of a country that is just coming of age.

While in Vancouver, I met up with Andy Yan, an urban planner who has done extensive studies of the city’s real-estate market. We drove out to West Point Grey, one of the most expensive areas, which overlooks an inlet. (In general, the most desirable real estate is in the west, toward the ocean, and the influx of international money has pushed longtime residents inland.) It was a bright, cool afternoon, and, as we drove down block after leafy block, the only other vehicles we saw were maintenance trucks. “It feels a little like a movie set,” Yan said. The houses we passed, palatial properties with views of the water, represented a cut-and-paste approach to Old World European glamour: there were French windows flanked by Corinthian pillars and topped by Tudor roofs. Yan pointed out the lion statues that stood beside many of the security gates: “That’s a dead giveaway the owner is Chinese.”

Yan was born in Vancouver and his family has been in Canada for nearly a century. He studied urban planning at U.C.L.A. and then got a job in the office of the prominent architect Bing Thom—a Vancouver native whose family is originally from Hong Kong—monitoring the impact of the city’s property boom. In a recent study, Yan found that about seventy per cent of the single-family homes sold in three high-end west-side neighborhoods were bought by Chinese. Many occupants of these properties described themselves as housewives or students—twenty-seven per cent of the respondents in homes with an average value of $3.05 million. The finding led Yan to speak of so-called “astronaut” family arrangements. The home buyer, typically the husband, lives and works in Asia, where cash can be made fast, while establishing his family members in Canada in order to move the money to a place of social and political stability. Yan has coined the term “hedge city” for places like Vancouver: they are a hedge against volatility at home.

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“You know, this isn’t helping convince people you’re not a witch.”

In the past six years, the value of single-family homes in Vancouver has risen seventy-five per cent, to an average of $1.9 million. At the same time, the median household income has barely budged. The disparity is not lost on locals. Last year, an indignant twenty-nine-year-old woman tweeted a selfie with the hashtag #don’thave1million. Hundreds of other Vancouver residents followed suit.

David Eby, who represents Vancouver-Point Grey in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, told me that he recently met with the district’s residents’ association. “All the talk was about mainland money. There is a lot of anxiety, and a sense that mainland buyers purchase houses but don’t contribute to the community or take part in it.”

Under pressure, the mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson, has proposed a tax on luxury homes and a tax on income from property speculation. He has recommended raising the tax on vacant investment properties and called for “far better tracking” of international investment and absentee owners. But it seems unlikely that such measures will be implemented. As prices have risen, ordinary Canadians have found that their homes represent more and more of their net worth. Many people in the federal government, including the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, have advocated caution when it comes to steps that would depress property values. Besides, rich international buyers mean higher tax revenues. “The state is addicted to the revenue,” Eby told me.

I asked Bing Thom about the changes. The property boom has, of course, been good for the architectural profession, but Thom, who is now in his early seventies, is troubled by what is happening to his home town. “By all accounts, I have done pretty well in my business, but I made more money from sitting on my Vancouver property than I made by working an entire lifetime,” he said. “That tells you something.”

continued next post

[GeneChing]

Thom was alarmed that consumption has effectively replaced production as Vancouver’s growth industry. “The city has become a hotel,” he said. He was opposed to what he called “selling citizenships”—the practice whereby countries including Canada and the U.S. grant residency in exchange for investment. “I think any country should be against that, because you’re not buying the best people,” Thom said. “They don’t invest in their country. There’s no belonging. But it’s a worldwide trend. It’s happening in England. It’s happening in France. It’s happening in Australia. Everywhere.”

There is a common conception that the fuerdai are being groomed to inherit their parents’ businesses, but this isn’t necessarily the case. One of the women on the show told me, “My daddy doesn’t want me to kill the company he has worked so hard to build. He told me, ‘If you don’t have the ability to take over, it’s better for you to collect a monthly income and give the reins to someone else.’ ” Parents often provide their children with money to start a small venture, to test their business acumen. Weymi’s parents promised her half a million dollars to launch a bilingual luxury-life-style magazine, which will be distributed free at high-end stores, in order to foster a sense of exclusivity. “I don’t plan on making a huge fortune from it,” Weymi said. “But my friends all agree: this project is so Weymi.” Ray’s boyfriend, who has yet to graduate from college, is going to open a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant in downtown Vancouver, with a sizable parental stake. “I plan to have menus on iPads, and there will be a video-game component to the ordering,” he told me.

Of all the women I met from the show, the only one who had a job was Pam, who was cheerfully squeezing three gigs into seventy-hour workweeks. She was a producer on the show, worked at a Vancouver auction house owned by an uncle, and ran her own modelling agency. One morning, I accompanied her as she flitted from one job to the next. We met in a clothing store with a makeshift runway, where she’d been casting models for an upcoming charity event, and then took a car to the auction house. She clearly enjoyed this kind of juggling. “Doing a nine-to-five, it’s too boring, and you don’t get to meet people,” she said, laughing. “My biggest flaw is that I have trouble finishing boring tasks.” She cited a Chinese proverb about beginning with the ferocity of a tiger and ending with the anticlimax of a snake’s tail.

Pam is uncommonly energetic. Her speech, alternating between slangy English and proverb-laden Mandarin, puts one in mind of a human split screen. She came to Vancouver, from Harbin, to attend middle school. By the age of fifteen, she was renting a place of her own. She told me, “If I had stayed in China, I think I would have been very sheltered. Being so far away from my family has made me more appreciative of their sacrifices.” Pam recalled a moment in college when she was waiting for a fifteen-thousand-dollar wire transfer to arrive. After a few days, she called her mother, who said that there were some minor bank clearance issues. Later, a relative revealed that her mother’s business had been close to bankruptcy. “It was, like, the first real moment when I saw how far my mom was willing to go to spare me the worry. It made me shudder to think how careless I’d been.”

We pulled into a strip mall and parked in front of a sign that read “VANDERFUL AUCTION INC.”—a pun on “wonderful” and “Vancouver.” Pam led me into a display room filled with brush-and-ink landscape paintings, porcelain horse statues, and intricately carved rosewood tea tables. She is the firm’s marketing director and, as the sole English speaker in the business, had spent the past two months translating the auction catalogue from Chinese. On a tour of the warehouse, Pam pointed at a small curved bamboo plank in a glass vitrine, which she said was for calligraphers to rest their arms on. “What do you call this?” she whispered, and then said sheepishly that she had ended up rendering it in English as “Elbow Lifter.” “This business of translation,” she sighed. “It’s harder than people realize, and there isn’t the vocabulary in English for everything.”

The lament was one I heard often in Vancouver, and it seemed to express something about the dislocation that comes with an enviable international existence. As we paused before an exquisite Qing-dynasty armoire, I asked Pam if she ever thought about working in China. As she considered the question, she ran her fingers over a phoenix carved on the cabinet’s front panel.


“The thing is, I’m not sure I’d fully fit in there now,” she said slowly. “I lack my parents’ Chinese business know-how. Westerners are all about being straightforward and direct. But, when you negotiate a deal in China, it’s all about what’s unsaid, simultaneously hiding and hinting at what you really want. In China, I’m treated like a naïve child, and sometimes I feel like an alien.” Pam and many of her friends, having emigrated in their teens, exist between two cultures. Canadians, and the West generally, could be inscrutable. The cultural capital that their parents had hoped would be theirs was elusive. But having been away from China during years of dizzyingly rapid change made them foreigners there, too.

Weymi and I had dinner one night. For once, she was dressed casually—a knee-length wool cardigan, sensible flats, no makeup—and we headed to a no-frills Chinese restaurant called Little Szechuan, in Richmond, an enclave of Canadian-born Chinese, not unlike Flushing, Queens. As Weymi drove, I asked whether she preferred Vancouver to Asia, and she said she did. She tapped the steering wheel and said, “It’s like this: when I am driving here and need to make a turn, I turn on my signal light and do it. It’s the most normal thing in the world. When I first drove in Asia, I flashed my signal and immediately people, instead of slowing down, all sped up to cut me off. It was so maddening, and then, after a little while, I became like everyone else. I never signal when I turn in Asia. I just do it. You don’t have a choice.”

Little Szechuan was bigger than its name suggested. Almost everyone there was Chinese, and Weymi waved to a table of rowdy young men as we entered. “In this town, everyone knows each other,” she said absently. After we ordered, she asked, “Do you want to see my pic with Justin Trudeau?” She scrolled through her phone. “He wasn’t the Prime Minister then, and I just asked him for a photo. I like Justin. I like most Canadian politicians, actually.” But she said that Westerners were too liberal on issues like marijuana and the death penalty. (China executes more people than any other country, more than a thousand people each year.)

As we ate, the conversation turned to inequality, and the extent to which it is visible in China and Canada. “Have you been to East Hastings?” she asked, referring to a neighborhood that contains Vancouver’s equivalent of Skid Row and is bordered by fashionable bars and million-dollar condos. “That’s where you see it the most. But for the most part everyone’s life is O.K. here.” She paused. “A lot better than in China, at least.” She recalled a visit to Shanghai when she had strayed into a shantytown of migrant workers from the Chinese countryside, and then spoke of the impoverished rural region of Yunnan, in southern China, from which her mother came. “When I was little, my mom would tell me stories about how poor they were,” she said. “It was a kind of poverty that makes you fearful the rest of your life.” Weymi’s grandmother and aunt took in laundry to make a living. “She didn’t want to be like her mom or older sister, always gossiping about those in the village a smidgen better off than themselves.” Weymi put down her chopsticks. “It’s that kind of typical provincial pettiness, but that was her entire life if she had stayed.” She shook her head and drew a breath. “I mean, can you just imagine?” ♦

Ah the good ol' New Yorker - still the master of long form journalism. :cool:

[GeneChing]

Tuhao, fuerdai, parachute kids...I should just change this thread title to "New Chinese Terminology" ;)


Sentenced to prison for assault, teenage 'parachute kids' deliver warning to adults in China (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-parachute-kids-sentencing-20160217-story.html)

http://www.trbimg.com/img-56c4e515/turbine/la-me-ln-parachute-kids-sentencing-20160217-001/750/750x422
Yunyao Zhai steps into court for sentencing hearing. Zhai is one of three high school students from China that were sentenced for their roles in the kidnapping and assault of another Chinese teenager. Yunyao "Helen" Zhai was sentenced to 13 years in prison. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Cindy Chang

Xinlei “John” Zhang was 15 when he moved to Southern California to get an American education.

He lived in a private boarding house for teens like himself, so-called “parachute kids” studying at U.S. high schools while their parents stayed behind in China. He fell in with the wrong crowd.

On Wednesday, Zhang, now 19, was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in brutal gang attacks against two fellow parachute kids.

Two other students from China stripped one victim naked, kicked her with high-heeled shoes, slapped her and burned her with cigarettes. They were sentenced to 10 years and 13 years, under a plea agreement with prosecutors that was approved by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas C. Falls.

In statements Wednesday, the defendants and their families urged Chinese parents to think carefully before sending their children to the U.S without supervision. The case has attracted widespread attention in China, where studying abroad at increasingly young ages has become fashionable among the middle-class as well as the rich.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Falls struggled to control the mass of reporters and photographers — mostly from Chinese-language media — seeking to document the proceedings.

Falls did not comment on the case, but at an earlier hearing, he said it reminded him of “Lord of the Flies,” William Golding's 1954 novel about boys stranded on a deserted island without grownups.

“This is a wakeup call for the ‘parachute kid syndrome,’” said one defendant, Yuhan “Coco” Yang, in a statement read to the judge by her attorney. “Parents in China are well-meaning and send their kids thousands of miles away with no supervision and too much freedom. That is a formula for disaster.”

Yang, 19, shielded her face from the cameras with her long, straight hair as her attorney spoke. She received a 10-year sentence for kidnapping and assault, as well as inflicting great bodily injury, in a March 30, 2015, attack in a Rowland Heights park against a then-18-year-old girl who was also from China.

The three defendants, who have been in county jail for almost a year since the attacks, will receive credit for time served. They each pleaded no contest to the charges before Falls sentenced them to the terms agreed upon in the deal with prosecutors.

In their statements, each apologized to the victims. Assistant Dist. Atty. Casey Jarvis said he spoke at length to one victim, who said she forgave her attacker.

“She’s a happy person, and that was taken from her repeatedly. But somehow, she was able to find forgiveness,” Jarvis told the judge.

Zhang received a lighter sentence than the two women because of his lesser role, the judge said.

According to preliminary hearing testimony, Zhang was present during the assaults but did not directly participate other than fetching a pair of scissors that the others used to cut off the victim’s hair in the March 30 attack. They then forced her to eat the hair.

In juvenile court, two other teenagers have admitted to assault in one or both incidents. Authorities believe that additional teens involved in the incidents have fled the country.

A 20-year-old man, Zheng Lu, was arrested in December on charges related to the attacks.

Yunyao “Helen” Zhai, 19, avoided the cameras by putting some papers over her face as her attorney read a statement she had written in jail. Accused by the other defendants of being the ringleader, she was sentenced to 13 years for kidnapping and assault in two attacks and inflicting great bodily injury in one of the attacks.

She is not a bad person, she wrote, but she realizes that she has attracted worldwide opprobrium for her actions.

“I’ve heard that I’m hated here and in China, and I probably deserve to be viewed that way,” the statement said.

Living alone in Southern California, she got caught up in a culture of materialism — the latest iPhone and pretty dress — but she now realizes she “owes everything” to her parents, she wrote.

“They sent me to the U.S. for a better life and a fuller education,” Zhai said in the statement.

“Along with that came a lot of freedom, in fact too much freedom … Here, I became lonely and lost. I didn’t tell my parents because I didn’t want them to worry about me.”

Outside the courtroom before the sentencing hearing, Zhang’s father spoke to reporters in Mandarin.

He and his wife have traveled from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen more than a half-dozen times for their son’s court appearances, even though they don’t speak English and can’t understand the proceedings.

The elder Zhang, who would not give his first name, grew up in Anhui Province and moved to Shenzhen as a young man, first working as a laborer and eventually starting a small manufacturing business.

He thought that sending his son to the U.S. would be a step up for the next generation. Through a middleman, he arranged for a “homestay” with a Mexican American family — about $1,500 a month for room and board.

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Xinlei "John" Zhang was sentenced to six years for his role in the in the kidnapping and assault of another Chinese teenager. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The son first attended a Christian high school before transferring to Oxford School, a cluster of portable classrooms tucked away in the back of a Rowland Heights strip mall. The athletic facilities are minimal: three worn basketball hoops, a volleyball net and a soccer goal on a small patch of parched grass.

For about $13,000 a year, the teenager took classes with other international students, mostly from China. Since all his friends were Chinese, he didn’t pick up much English, his father said.

The elder Zhang cautioned Chinese parents not to send their children abroad at such a young age.

“If he’d never left my side, that would have been better,” Zhang said.

cindy.chang@latimes.com

[GeneChing]

These Are the Super-Rich People Shaping China (http://fortune.com/2016/03/03/china-national-peoples-congress-alibaba/?xid=smartnews)
COMMENTARY by Matthias Stepan, Lea Shih MARCH 3, 2016, 8:00 PM EST

https://fortunedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/jackma.jpg?quality=80&w=840&h=485&crop=1
Jack Ma, founder and chairman of Alibaba
Photograph by ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

In this Communist state, it was rare to see private entrepreneurs influence public policies.

At the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress that begins Saturday, one group clearly stands out – the 114 of the nearly 3,000 delegates of the National People’s Congress (NPC) that are on the Hurun list of richest Chinese. China’s richest people account for close to 4% of the members of the body that officially acts as China’s national legislature. This high level of representation is at least somewhat ironic in a nation that still follows Communist doctrine.

But in a departure from the past, China’s most successful — and obviously well connected — private entrepreneurs aren’t just there for the prestige or to show off. They want to influence policymaking.

As things stand, for the first time in the history of the People’s Republic, private entrepreneurs are actively involved in the preparation of a five-year plan. That is a remarkable vote of confidence by the country’s leadership in the importance of the private sector — and at the same time an important admission on the part of the government. The basic message is this: We need you because you have a head start!

This is an important development, even though Xi Jinping’s core focus in his reform policies clearly rests on strengthening increasingly feeble state owned enterprises, giving them preferred access to capital and urging them to undertake mega-mergers.

However, the privately owned companies operating in China’s advanced services and technology sectors realize that their hand has been strengthened greatly. They know that they are China’s main engines of growth in a period of economic transition, which gives them considerable power.

Consider the case of the founder of the IT company Tencent, Pony Ma, who has an estimated fortune of $18.8 billion. Ahead of last year’s annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, the 44-year-old wrote an open letter demanding a national strategy for China to advance the digitization of the economy. A few days later, Prime Minister Li Keqiang, as part of his report on the government’s plans and activities, announced the launch of an “Internet Plus” strategy.

Insiders immediately realized who had coined that term. It was none other than Pony Ma, who had started to use that phrase beginning in 2013, based on the concepts developed by his company’s own research institute. Even though Ma is not a member of the CPC, the “paternity” of the “Internet Plus” is undeniable. Officially, of course, his company denied any involvement in the government report.

When the National People’s Congress will pass the new five-year plan in the upcoming session, it will likely also feature the recommendations of Jack Ma’s private think tank, Ali Research, to promote Big Data as an important source of economic growth. Jack Ma, 52, is the second richest Chinese and head of the Internet company Alibaba BABA 2.03% . As is the case with Tencent, he established a private think tank, in 2007, to develop relevant policy recommendations.

While both of these think tanks were primarily established to deal with issues of Internet governance and legislation on issues of the Internet, their activities also much include broader matters of economic and industrial policy. Other entrepreneurs have been following in the two Mas footsteps. Lei Jun, the 46-year-old founder of Xiaomi, the successful smartphone maker, recently advocated for a revision of China’s Company Law.

Meanwhile, the 47-year-old multi-billionaire Robin Li turn, CEO of Baidu, the web services company, is suggesting the creation of a national platform for artificial intelligence research to the National People’s Congress. And Fosun, the largest privately owned conglomerate and investment company in China, presented a national development strategy for healthcare in advance of this year’s NPC session.

To date, Chinese private entrepreneurs are not an autonomously organized group that challenges the primacy of China’s Communist Party. But they are nevertheless gaining considerable influence. Their technological know-how is very much in demand, as are their state-of-the-art business models and strategies. This provides them with a lot of clout vis-à-vis the government and Communist Party policymakers in general. Not least for that reason, the number of private research institutes has continued to rise ever since Xi Jinping took office. Although these new outfits have less direct access to decision makers than pro-government think tanks, they are much better equipped financially and also better connected globally.

Reflecting the top entrepreneurs’ rise in the Chinese political landscape, President Xi Jinping increasingly takes them along on his trips abroad, both to showcase their (and hence China’s) success and to provide these private entrepreneurs with more global growth opportunities.

Xi is keenly aware that these top companies’ and entrepreneurs’ continued success at home and abroad will be a critical factor in determining whether or not the economic transformation strategy which the leadership has launched will succeed.

Many IT entrepreneurs also appreciate their government’s political support for global expansion. The Communist Party “China Dream” evidently also includes more internationally successful company modeled after Alibaba.

How far will this process of mutual enchantment between the CPC leadership and the Internet entrepreneurs go? Alibaba founder Jack Ma probably put it best, when he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2015: “We want to enchant the government, but we don’t want to marry it.”

Matthias Stepan is head of Chinese Domestic Politics Program at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin, Germany. Lea Shih is a research associate at MERICS.

More on Jack Ma in our Jet-Li-s-TaijiZen-International-Cultural-Development-Company (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65314-Jet-Li-s-TaijiZen-International-Cultural-Development-Company) thread.

[GeneChing]

These Are China’s Youngest Billionaires China Tech (http://www.whatsonweibo.com/chinas-youngest-billionaires/)
March 2, 2016

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After inheriting a fortune from her father, the 19-year-old Alexandra Andresen has been named the youngest billionaire on the globe by the Forbes World’s Billionaire List. Forbes has got Weibo talking about money. The teenage girl Alexandra Andresen from Norway is worth an estimated 1.2 billion US$ according to the Forbes billionaires list. The young rich woman became trending on China’s social media site Sina Weibo under the title of ’19-year-old girl becomes world’s youngest multi-millioniare’ (19岁少女成世界最年轻亿万富翁). In light of this news, What’s on Weibo explores who the richest ‘kids’ of mainland China are: a top 10 of China’s youngest billionaires, according to Forbes’ World’s Billionaires.

No. 1 – Wang Han (王瀚, 28 years old):

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At just 28 years, Wang Han became one of the world’s youngest billionaires – he is number 7 in the international top 10. Wang became a billionaire after inheriting shares in regional airline Juneyao Air (吉祥航空有限公司) from his late father Wang Junyao (王均瑶), who was the founder. According to Forbes, Wang Han owns 27% of the airline and 14% of department store Wuxi Commercial Mansion Grand Orient (无锡商业大厦大东方股份有限公司). The Juneyao Group also has businesses in the education and food sector. They are also active on social media; Juneyao also has a rather large fanbase on its Weibo account.

No. 2 – Wang Yue (王悦, 32 years old): 1.1 billion US$

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Wang Yue is a newcomer to the list of the world’s youngest billionaires, according to Forbes 2016. He is called China’s “web game billionaire”. Wang earned a fortune being an online and mobile game entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Shanghai Kingnet Technology (上海恺英网络科技有限公司), better known as Kingnet (恺英网络).

No. 3 – Cheng Wei (程维, 33 years old): 1 billion US$

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Cheng Wei (程维, 1983) is CEO of China’s Uber rival Didi Kuaidi (滴滴快滴), a transportation company which was formed in early 2015 as a merge of Cheng’s company Didi Dache and Alibaba’s Kuaidi Dache. Previous to starting his own company, Cheng worked for Alibaba for 8 years and became vice president for Alibaba’s online payment service Alipay. Cheng has a verified Weibo account, but he has not posted much since his rise to fame.


No. 4 – Yang Huiyan (杨惠妍, 34 years old): 4.9 billion US$

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Born in 1981, Yang Huiyan from Guangdong’s Foshan is one of the world’s richest women. She became the largest shareholder of real estate developer Country Garden Holdings (碧桂园集团) after her father transferred his holdings to her when she was just 25 years old (also see the featured image). According to its official website, Country Gardens is “a company constantly fighting for the development of a harmonious society.”

No. 5 – Frank Wang Tao (汪滔, 35 years old): 3.6 billion US$

http://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/franktao.jpg

Wang Tao, also known in English as Frank Tao or Frank Wang, is the founder and CEO of Shenzhen-based DJI, the world’s largest supplier of civilian drones. Forbes describes him as “the world’s first drone billionaire”. Headquartered in China’s “Silicon Valley” Shenzhen, DJI started as a single small office in 2006, and has now turned into to a global workforce of over 3,000. Their offices can be found in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Beijing and Hong Kong (dji.com).
continued next post

[GeneChing]

No. 6 – Zhang Bangxin (张邦鑫, 35 years old): 1.01 billion US$

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Who ever thought after school tutoring could make you rich? Zhang Bangxin (1980) is the cofounder, chairman and CEO of the Beijing-based educational tutoring firm TAL Education Group (世纪好未来教育科技有限公司). The company has been around since 2003, and it provides after-school tutoring for pupils from kindergarten to 12th grade at over 500 locations throughout China. Zhang is also an official Weibo microblogger, but, like his fellow billionaires in this list, he might be too busy making money to actually post on social media.

No. 7 – Cai Xiaoru (蔡小如, 36 years): 1.2 billion US$

http://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/numbercai.jpg

Cai Xiaoru is chairman of Tatwah Smartech (达华智能), a company that is specialized in the research, development, manufacture and distribution of radio frequency identification (RFID). The company produces, amongst others, non-contact IC cards and electronic labels. Cai became a billionaire in mid-2015, following the fast-growing stock price of Tatwah Smartech.

No. 8 – Li Weiwei (李卫伟 aka 李逸飞, 37 years): 1.3 billion US$

http://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/37wan.jpg

For Li Weiwei, it is all work and all play. The young entrepreneur, who was born in Chengdu city, is the vice chairman of online game company Wuhu Shunrong Sanqi Interactive Entertainment Network Technology (芜湖顺荣三七互娱网络科技股份有限公司). The company is better known under the name of 37wan, a platform that offers high-quality game products. Li Weiwei is also known as Li Yifei (李逸飞).

No. 9 – Zhou Yahui (周亚辉, 39 years): 2 billion US$

http://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/zhou.jpg

Another billionaire who got rich through the gaming industry is Zhou Yahui (1977) – the CEO of Beijing Kunlun Tech (北京昆仑万維科技股份有限公司). Kunlun Tech is one of China’s biggest web game developers and operators. In January of 2016, NY Times reported that the company paid $93 million for a 60% stake of Grindr, the largest social networking app for gay men in the world. With over 2 million daily users in 196 countries, the app has proven to be a good investment for Zhou.

No. 10 – Wu Gang (吴刚, 39 years old): 1.3 billion US$

http://www.whatsonweibo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wugang-1.jpg

Wu Gang is co-founder and CEO of money management company Beijing Tongchuang Jiuding Investment Management (北京同创九鼎投资管理股份有限公司), better known as JDcapital (九鼎投资), “a leading investment firm with deep roots in equity investment and management”, as it describes itself.

On Weibo, some netizens have asked Norwegian billionaire Alexandra Andresen to come and visit China. With so many other billionaires, the young heiress will certainly have no reason to feel lonely at the top in China.

By Manya Koetse

Sources: *163 (2015): http://news.163.com/15/1104/14/B7J6UOEO00014AED.html *Jiangsu.China.com (2015): http://jiangsu.china.com.cn/html/jsnews/gnxw/2758273_2.html *Forbes.com (various pages, see in-text links) and the China Rich List sorted by age. Images: Featured: Yang Huiyan (http://blog.sina.com.cn) – http://www.ittime.com.cn/news/news_10433.shtml – http://www.eeyy.com/jinjing/2014/ – http://uk.china-info24.com/british/tic/ht/20150729/200775.html – http://baike.baidu.com/view/880927.htm – http://startupbeat.hkej.com/?author=12 – http://www.cyzone.cn/a/20131114/247015.html – http://money.163.com/15/1216/07/BAULIVAD00252G50.html – http://www.laonanren.com/news/2015-11/104275.htm – http://www.forbes.com/profile/zhou-yahui-1/ – http://www.gsm.pku.edu.cn


The guys all look a little nerdy. The two gals look hot, as in billionairess hot. ;)

[GeneChing]

That's the price of my house. :o


Wang Sicong at it again, China's richest son blows 2.5 million RMB at KTV in single night (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/03/17/wang_sicong_at_it_again_chinas_rich.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/wang_sicong_again4.jpg

Everyone's favorite fuerdai appears to be up to his usual shenanigans, he was spotted at a Beijing KTV recently blowing more money in a single night than many in China will see in their entire lives.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/wang_sicong_again.jpg

Six receipts from Wang Sicong's presumably epic night on the town have been published online. Five of the bills are for 200,000 RMB, while the sixth is for 1.5 million RMB, meaning he managed to spend a grand total of 2.5 million RMB ($385,000).

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/wang_sicong_again2.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/wang_sicong_again3.jpg

This is actually considerably more than his last publicized night out where he spent just 200,000 RMB on Halloween night at a Sanlitun club.
This might be because his father, Wang Jianlin, China's richest man, is worth a heck of lot more than he used to be. The Wanda CEO recently saw his fortune jump up by more than 50% to $34.4 billion. He's also been throwing his money around, buying a £80 million property on London's billionaire row as well as a Hollywood Film Studio. Though, as an acclaimed "karaoke king" himself, we can assume that Wang is fine with how his son blows his money.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/05/wang-si-cong-dog-apple-watch1.jpg

Wang Sicong has become infamous in China for the ludicrous ways in which he spends his father's fortune. Last May, he outraged netizens by posting pictures to his dog's Weibo account of the animal sporting no less than two Apple watches worth 126,000 RMB piece. Earlier that year, he hired out an entire resort in Sanya to celebrate his birthday, and even splurged on inviting T-ara, one of his top 5 favorite Korean girl bands, to put on a private gig for him and his guests. He's also the proud owner of a £50 million private equity firm focusing on computer gaming and was one of the groomsmen at Angelababy and Huang Xiaoming's fairytale wedding held in Shanghai last year.
Netizens have reacted to this latest spending spree with a familiar mixture of awe and cynicism:
"With the money he blew in one night, you could buy an apartment," one bewildered netizen wrote.
"That is so tuhao!" commented another web user.
"This is just another average day for a fuerdai," wrote another netizen.
In case you are curious what else 2.5 million RMB can buy these days. It's the kind of money that a flight crew gets for foiling an arson attack, and nearly enough to build your very own Mega Mao.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/big_mao.jpg
[Images via Sina]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Alex Linder in News on Mar 17, 2016 11:59 PM

[Jimbo]

He may be 'China's richest son', but all that money doesn't change the fact that he's still a total doofus.

[GeneChing]

And Apple watches for his dog. FTW!


Tuhao goes shopping for jewelry with 8 robotic maids (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/04/19/tuhao_shops_with_robot_maids.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/robot_maids.jpg

In case people around him were having any doubts about his incredible wealth, one tuhao went shopping at a Guangzhou mall last week escorted by eight robot servants.
And on the off chance that anyone ever doubted the incredible size of his wallet again, photos were taken for the occasion, showing the guy -- flanked by his squadron of robotic maids -- picking out some jewelry. So that he wouldn't get exhausted, his servants carried his bags, coat, towel and water on trays. Fortunately, the entrance to the mall was not a revolving door.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/robot_maids2.jpg

Naive netizens were shocked by this latest ostentatious display of wealth. Some wondered if Wang Sicong, tuhao supreme, son of China's richest man, could even pull this kind of thing off. Probably not, he's too busy running up tabs at clubs and buying his dog Apple watches.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/05/wang-si-cong-dog-apple-watch1.jpg

However, perhaps this wasn't such a costly operation after all. Earlier this month, the Guangzhou robot population suffered a round of mass firings from their jobs as waiters after they were found to be totally incompetent. Maybe these unemployed machines are looking for work where they can get it.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2016/04/robot-waiter-guangzhou-1.jpg

A brave new world.
[Images via Toutiao]

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Alex Linder in News on Apr 19, 2016 7:40 PM

[GeneChing]

Sorta random but it had a sword in it. ;)


Chinese heiress reveals how she lavishes thousands on the London season in a bid to be accepted by English high society - and impress her billionaire father (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3571298/Chinese-heiress-lavishes-thousands-London-season-accepted-English-high-society.html)

Wendy Yu, 25, who was born in Zhejiang province but now lives in London
She has been to finishing school to learn how to be an English Lady
Spent thousands to be presented at prestigious Queen Charlotte's Ball

By LUCY WATERLOW FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 12:28 EST, 3 May 2016 | UPDATED: 07:24 EST, 4 May 2016

The daughter of a Chinese billionaire says she does not want to be seen as a garish pampered princess so is modelling herself on a refined English Lady.
Wendy Yu, 25, who was born in Zhejiang province but now lives in London, has been to finishing school to learn how to walk, talk and dress like an aristocrat.
After learning all about etiquette at the London Season Academy, she spent thousands to be presented as a debutante at the prestigious Queen Charlotte's Ball last year.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/05/03/15/33A85EB900000578-3571298-Wendy_Yu_25_-a-21_1462285684839.jpg
Wendy Yu, 25, is the heiress to her father's fortune. He has become one of China's richest men thanks to his door manufacturer business which he built up from scratch

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/05/03/15/33A85EB500000578-3571298-image-a-23_1462285753562.jpg
Wendy attended the London Season Academy, wearing a ball gown designed by Emma Victoria Payne Bridalwear, so she could be presented as a debutante at the prestigious Queen Charlotte's Ball last year at Kensington Palace

The Kensington Palace event is renowned as the pinnacle occasion in the London Season, which is rich in history and was formed over two hundred years ago when the custom of returning to London at the end of the hunting season was celebrated with glittering balls and high society parties.
King George III introduced the Queen Charlotte's Ball in 1780 to celebrate his wife's birthday and debutantes were traditionally presented to the King or Queen until 1958.
Today, with tables starting at £2,500 and run by a partnership of corporate sponsors and companies, attendance is strictly for with deep pockets, with many traditionalists bemoaning the loss of the balls genteel and refined roots.
The young ladies continue to be 'presented' in the traditional way wearing cream silks and lace dresses and bedecked in jewels. But now their place will have been purchased, rather than given as a birth right.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/05/03/15/33C9F98600000578-3571298-Wendy_is_pictured_at_the_back_on_the_far_left_at_l ast_year_s_Que-a-24_1462286413774.jpg
Wendy is pictured at the back on the far left at last year's Queen Charlotte's Ball where a quarter of the debutantes were Chinese

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Young ladies continue to be 'presented' in the traditional way wearing cream silks and lace dresses, pictured, but now their place will have been purchased, rather than given as a birth right

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/05/03/15/33C9F7C500000578-3571298-image-a-16_1462285645791.jpg
German tennis ace Boris Becker's daughter was presented at last year's ball

As a result many, like Wendy, are the daughters of foreign billionaires. A quarter of the girls presented at the last ball were from China's richest families, while German tennis ace Boris Becker's daughter also took part.
London Season organisers Patrica Woodall and Jennie Hallam-Peel say the Chinese love to be part of the events as 'they love going to stately homes and mixing with aristocracy. They are very interested in the royal family, this is something they don't have.'
Wendy also tried to emulate something of the season at her recent birthday party, wearing an Oscar de La Renta dress and hiring a room at The Ritz. She even had a giant white cake to rival the traditional Queen Charlotte Cake cut at the ball.
For Wendy, the UK has been alluring from a young age and she moved here aged 15 to attend a boarding school in Taunton and then went on to study at the London College of Fashion.
She loves the English way of life and was keen to learn about high society as she wants to present herself 'in the right way' to people in her home country - where her family's wealth has made her a celebrity.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/05/03/15/33A860E700000578-3571298-image-a-26_1462286493928.jpg
Wendy is keen to carry on her father's success. 'I have a huge responsibility in terms of family heritage as I am an only child I want to be a good daughter,' she said

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/05/03/15/33A85F6A00000578-3571298-image-a-28_1462286499138.jpg
The heiress has 62.2k followers on Instagram where she shares glamorous pictures of herself and news on her businesses

At her finishing school she was taught how to walk with poise, how to wear a tiara and how to curtsy.
'I was very lucky my father was already successful. I only want to present myself in the right way,' she said on Channel 4 documentary Britain's Billionaire Immigrants.
'Everybody born in those circumstances could be spoiled and waste their privilege but I am looking to make a more positive social impact and do more meaningful things.'
Wendy works hard to ensure she always gives the image of being an elegant, hardworking heiress.
Her 62.2k followers on Instagram see pictures of her in designer gowns that she had posted only after her personal make up artist has done her make-up.
She lives in a luxury apartment in Knightsbridge where she keeps a 'priceless' collection of designer Barbies.
Her father made his fortune as a door manufacturer after being born into poverty.
Wendy said: 'My father started his company 26 years ago and now we have more than a thousand retailing stores in China and 4,000 employees, we are biggest wooden door manufacturer in Asia.'
Rather than rest on her laurels and spend her father's money, Wendy said she is keen to establish herself as a businesswoman in her own right.
She has founded a firm called Yu Capital and has made major investments, including a stake in a Chinese taxi app similar to Uber.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/05/03/15/33C8BDAF00000578-3571298-image-a-10_1462285593038.jpg
For her 25th birthday party Wendy hired a room at The Ritz and wore an Oscar De La Renta gown

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/05/03/15/33C8BD6F00000578-3571298-image-a-11_1462285596745.jpg
Wendy lives in London and says she loves the British way of life

She said she feels under pressure to ensure her father's success continues.
'I have a huge responsibility in terms of family heritage as I am an only child I want to be a good daughter,' she said.
But she adds that her drive is also due to a need to impress her parents - even though they give her little encouragement when she succeeds.
'In China the parents have high standards, from a young age we are taught to work hard,' she explains.
'I think there is a difference between English parents and Chinese parents. Though they are proud of you at heart they would never express it. They encourage you to achieve more and do more rather than say "you are great".'
Even after she made a good impression at the Queen Charlotte's Ball - an event which she said 'would be the most significant ceremony of my life apart from my wedding' - she said they weren't overtly proud of her.
Instead she said: ''I think they are proud of their country and what China has achieved today.'

[GeneChing]

Jon M. Chu in Talks to Direct 'Crazy Rich Asians' (Exclusive) (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jon-m-chu-talks-direct-888681)
8:19 AM PDT 5/4/2016 by Rebecca Ford and Borys Kit

http://cdn3.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/portrait_300x450/2016/05/gettyimages-164857675.jpg
Jon M Chu
Getty Images

The adaptation of Kevin Kwan's 2013 book centers on a group of Chinese families preparing for a large wedding in Singapore.

Ahead of the release of his latest film Now You See Me 2, Jon M. Chu is in talks to direct Crazy Rich Asians.

Color Force and Ivanhoe Pictures are developing the adaptation of Kevin Kwan's 2013 book, which centers on a group of wealthy Chinese families. When the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings his American-born Chinese girlfriend to Singapore for a wedding, the gossip, backstabbing and scheming reaches a fever pitch among the three super-rich families.

Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and John Penotti are producing while Kwan will executive produce. Pete Chiarelli (The Proposal) wrote the script.

Color Force nabbed the film rights to Kwan's debut novel in 2013. The project will feature a predominantly Asian and Asian-American cast, and comes at a time when there's been uproar over some recent adaptations that have recast Asian roles with Caucasian actors (such as Scarlett Johansson in The Ghost in the Shell.)

Crazy Rich Asians, a personal, character-driven story about family and culture, is an interesting next step for Chu who has built up a successful career with several big spectacle films, like his latest, the magic-heist sequel Now You See Me 2, which hits theaters June 10.

The helmer, who is Asian-American, has bounced between music-inspired projects and big actions films, previously directing 2015’s Jem and the Holograms, Justin Bieber’s Believe and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Repped by WME and Principato Young, Chu is also attached to direct and produce Paramount's action-adventure project Escape.

That would be really funny if this was re-cast with Scar-Jo and Tilda. :p

[GeneChing]

Chanel, Champagne, Homicide Charges: Vancouver’s ‘Ultra Rich Asian Girls’ Sees Real Drama On Screen and Off (https://jingdaily.com/chanel-champagne-homicide-charges-vancouvers-ultra-rich-asian-girls-sees-real-drama-on-screen-and-off/)
Jessica Rapp @jrapppp September 1, 2016

https://jingdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/3G3C0128-1240x859.jpg
Diana and Chelsea in a still from Ultra Rich Asian Girls. (Courtesy Photo)

When Kevin Li first launched his Canadian web series Ultra Rich Asian Girls of Vancouver, the public’s simultaneous disapproval of and fascination with the fuerdai, or Chinese second-generation wealthy, was widespread. Now, Li is working on his fourth season, and already, much has changed. Since Jing Daily last spoke to Li when the first season aired in 2014, one character launched her men’s underwear line. Another had a baby. And one of the characters from Season 1, Florence Zhao, left the show. Her father was charged in 2015 with second-degree murder after allegedly dismembering Florence’s mother’s millionaire cousin in their Vancouver home for money.

But perhaps most notable is the possibility that the show could go mainstream as Li is in talks with an unnamed U.S. company seeking to co-produce the show for the American market. Currently, the show streams online for free on Youtube, Youku, and Tencent channels. While viewership spans foremost Canada and the United States, followed by Taiwan, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Chinese viewership has been on the rise. Li says the show’s Weibo account “goes up by the hundreds everyday,” and meanwhile, Western media has tried to dissect the phenomenon to find out exactly what it really means to be a fuerdai in North America.

“When I released the teaser for it a couple years ago, the local media picked up on it and they thought it was a joke at first,” Li says. “They asked, is this a parody? I was like no, this is for real.” Ultra Rich Asian Girls stars four wealthy Chinese millennials, now Pam, Chelsea, Diana, and Joy, who spend their days shopping at luxury boutiques, getting facials, and drinking Champagne. Like many reality shows, the action cuts to confessionals from each of the characters, most of which are petty jabs and catty remarks.

But outside the show, there has been even bigger drama. After Florence, or “Flo Z” left last year, there were questions about whether she was actually rich. According to media reports, Florence and her family were being financially supported by the murder victim, Gang Yuan, and the lawyer for Yuan’s family accused her of lying about owning his home and his Rolls Royce.

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The cast of Ultra Rich Asian Girls of Vancouver. (Courtesy Photo)

Li says his primary goal has always been to avoid depicting a cast of irresponsible fuerdai. His cast members have college degrees, three from the University of British Columbia, one graduating with honors in math, another making progress in fashion marketing. One even has a small business that is steadily gaining Weibo followers thanks to promotion on the show. “These girls are an excellent example of how to be responsible and have money, but you still have to pursue your own dreams and careers,” he says.

Jing Daily caught up with Li once again to find out where the series has headed, whether Florence has any chance of returning to Season 4, and how luxury brands are getting their cut.

What has been the response like for the show since it began?

For the past three months, there has been a lot of worldwide interest from media in the United States, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Al Jazeera, as well as Dateline Australia. It’s really taking on a lot more media attention than I really expected when I first started. People are very, very interested in this particular demographic. Economically, China is doing a lot these days, and people are getting more and more curious.

What have the media been saying about the show?

As for many of the production companies, they’ve been wanting to do something like this, but they don’t know how and they don’t know where to start. They don’t even know where to find the talent. Especially when it comes to the North American production companies, they are predominately Caucasian and very few times have they ever tried to call for something that is more multicultural. In the past year or so, they’ve seen the response the show has generated, that even though the girls are speaking in Mandarin, this is actually worth something, so let’s see what we can do. That’s the general curiosity that I get from the production companies. “

When you originally started this show, were you aiming at one particular audience versus another?

It was mainly for the Chinese audience because number one, if we look at it like a business, a lot of the Hollywood films are actually going to China because people there still consume movies in the traditional sense by going to the theater. What are they talking about now? They are talking about wealth and the money. And what was my favorite show growing up? Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. So it was these different elements that came together that made me decide I wanted a Chinese audience.

In Vancouver, in particular, there has been a lot of backlash regarding wealthy Chinese coming from the mainland and driving up property values. Do you feel that has been affecting how people react to your show?

I remember when the Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie show came out, The Simple Life, people were like, ‘These rich girls are doing all these things and never heard of Walmart. Oh my God, I can’t believe it. Walmart, right?’ But people still watched it. It was hugely popular. Like, no one would look at these two girls and say these two are driving up property prices, you know, around the area.

There’s many factors to Vancouver’s housing prices, and only 3 percent of British Columbia buyers are foreign Chinese. So there are a lot of misconceptions within the local public on how much Chinese wealth is. The biggest problem I see, as a Chinese kid growing up in Vancouver, is that people locally still see Chinese, including myself, as foreign. So when they see a guy like me go out and buy a house, they would assume too that I’m China-Chinese.

continued next post

[GeneChing]

https://jingdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/3G3C1605.jpg
The cast of Ultra Rich Asian Girls of Vancouver. (Courtesy Photo)

What do you hope people get out of the show other than entertainment?

Of course, number one is entertainment. And number two, I’ve always had a huge interest in Chinese-Canadian history and Chinese-Canadian culture. And within the show, you’ll see as such in the second episode of Season 1 when the girls go to Victoria’s Chinatown, which is Canada’s oldest Chinatown. They learn about the different Chinese pioneers that were here 140 years ago. So I use the show as a platform to share what I’m passionate about.

Of course, the title is provocative. That’s what it’s meant to do. But when you watch the show, you’ll actually learn these girls are actually very human, just like everyone else. They have their own vulnerabilities, and they have their own insecurities. They are also discovering what it is like growing up and living life in Vancouver. That’s what I hope people will take away from watching the show, beginning to end.

How do you go about planning a season? How much of it is pre-planned?

I would say that it is about 80 percent. The only reason for this is because the show is driven by sponsorships, so we have to be at certain places, like the mall. Do they go to those malls? Of course they go to those malls. But do they jump around and take all those selfies? Maybe not, right? But everything they say comes from their own mouth and their own mind. I came from a documentary and news background; I’ve been doing it for 18 years before doing Ultra Rich Asian Girls, and this is all I know how to do.

How do you go about choosing brands to sponsor you?

They are coming to me. A lot of companies these days see the value in the Chinese economy. So if you have a business here, especially in Vancouver, you are basically looking for that market, those who are spending frivolously, buying up stuff, eating $200 meals—and that’s just on the cheap end—and buying handbags. So if they don’t know how to advertise, they see the show as a way to reach their audience, not just here, but also in Asia as well because of social media.

How do you go about finding the cast for the show?

What’s important for me is that the show on the whole is entertaining, but there is a secondary message to it. The girls I find have to have a good story. They want to start their own business, they have a mind of their own, and they know what they want. It’s not just a girl who happens to be rich and pretty. Of course, that helps. What really tells a story is that they want to do their own business and exploring what that is like. It’s giving a different way for people to see the fuerdai. In the community, the fuerdai has had a really, really bad reputation in the past little while, with all the news reporting about the crashed Lamborghinis, Ferraris, whatever. But, there’s rich kids in Canada, and they’re called the trust fund kids. There’s a lot of trust fund kids who blow their money on cocaine and partying. But, they don’t get such a bad rap. There are also trust fund kids that go on to become lawyers, stockbrokers, and things like that. And this is just another way for people to get an inside look on this particular demographic.”

There have been numerous media reports about Florence leaving the show because her father was accused of murdering her mother’s cousin. What has happened since then? Is she coming back?

Yeah, it was very, very unfortunate. She was of course in Season 1 when that happened. She was very great for the show. She had a lot of charisma, and she had a lot of personality. She was starting her own activewear line and all this stuff. Things like that unfortunately happen, and the case is for the courts. We would love to see her come back, but she has to get this part figured out first before considering everything else. Right now her time is focused with her mom and family.

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Florence Zhao (C) takes a selfie in a shot from Season One. (Courtesy Photo)

Did that mean a change in how you vet people for the show? When you found Florence, did you think she was as rich as she said she was?

She actually is rich in a sense, where she has more than most. As far as I understood it, she and her family settled in Canada first before her uncle. So that vetting process is fine. There are a lot of rumors out there accusing her of this and that, that are unfounded. So in terms of people saying “she’s not rich,” those are unfounded rumors.

What was the vetting process like for the four girls you have as your cast now?

Again, the number one most important thing is that these girls have a good story to share. They have to have a great education and are trying to figure out their lives. That’s the fun part—figuring things out. If they knew everything already, it’s not fun anymore, in my entertainment sense. Number two is of course they have to have wealth as it goes along with the name. We look at where they go party, where they like to eat, where they like to travel, what they carry, what their favorite brands are. That’s how we go about it. I mean, do I go look at their bank accounts? That’s not my business—I don’t need to look at that. All of that shows through their everyday life. The details will show how affluent they are, and that’s how we go about it. Do they have more than most? I would have to say they would have to have more than many. That’s what’s important.

Do you ever plan on filming the show in the Chinese mainland?

I would love to do that because I think China has a lot to offer. There’s a lot of fear and loathing outside of China, especially about China wealth and the “big Communist regime” that might be taking over North America and everything else. You’re from the United States and you’re living in China, and I think it’s very different from what people assume that to be. I would love to take the show to China to show a different perspective.

This interview was edited and condensed.
Has anyone here watched this show?

[GeneChing]

The son of a Chinese billionaire bought his dog eight iPhone 7s (http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/20/asia/china-richest-man-dog-iphones/index.html)
By James Griffiths, CNN
Updated 3:58 AM ET, Tue September 20, 2016

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160920134717-wang-sicong-coco-iphones-1-exlarge-169.jpg
Coco the Alaskan malamute poses with her iPhone 7 handsets.

Story highlights
Wang Sicong is the son of Wang Jianlin, one of China's richest men
The younger Wang is notorious for his ostentatious displays of wealth
Hong Kong (CNN)Apple fans lined up across China last week to get their hands on the latest iPhone, while others tried to smuggle handsets in from Hong Kong.
But one iPhone user didn't have to worry: Coco the Alaskan malamute.
Coco's owner Wang Sicong, son of Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin (estimated worth $30 billion), bought her eight iPhone 7 handsets on the day of their release, according to photos posted on the dog's verified Weibo social media account -- China's equivalent of Twitter.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160920134818-wang-sicong-coco-iphones-2-exlarge-169.jpg
Coco poses with her black and rose gold iPhone 7 handsets.

"I don't understand all the show-off posts on (social media)," read the post alongside the photos.
"What's the point? Don't make me do it?"
In China, an iPhone 6 costs 6,988 yuan ($1,047), while the larger iPhone 7 Plus goes for 7,988 yuan ($1,197).

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160920135632-wang-sicong-exlarge-169.jpg
Wang Sicong has been nicknamed "the nation's husband" online.

This isn't the first time Wang has doted on Coco in this fashion.
In 2015, he attracted widespread outrage in China after posting photos of the dog wearing two Apple Watches with luxury bands worth upwards of $37,000.
He's part of China's fu'erdai or second-generation rich -- the sons and daughters of tycoons that are best known for flaunting their decadent lifestyles.
Nicknamed "the nation's husband" for his status as China's most eligible bachelor, Wang has come under fire from state media for his outrageous displays of wealth.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160920134911-wang-sicong-coco-apple-watch-exlarge-169.jpg
Wang previously bought Coco Apple Watches and bands worth $37,000.

Last year, the official Xinhua news agency published a blistering commentary about Wang accusing him of having "stained the purity of the Chinese (people)" and warning others not to copy the "arrogant and coarse celebrity."
That came after Wang created a furore by saying the only characteristic he looked for in potential girlfriends was the size of their breasts, causing Xinhua to accuse him of having "Berlusconi-style arrogance."
Criticism over "buxomgate" got so strong that Wang's father appeared on state television to address the controversy, blaming his son's behavior on "Western schooling."
CNN's Serenitie Wang in Beijing contributed to this report

Buxomgate...oh man. It's rough being king, or in this case, spoiled prince. :rolleyes:

[wolfen]

Interesting News Items.
From the first post: Modigliani's “Nu Couché” is a wonderful work. Maybe it will be safer in HK and hopefully put on public viewing sometime.
......


"That came after Wang created a furore by saying the only characteristic he looked for in potential girlfriends was the size of their breasts"
This doesn't seem be exactly what he said.

Other news items report:


Wang Sicong, had sparked a scandal by telling reporters at a Valentine’s Day charity event in Beijing that what he looked for in potential dates was a “big rack.”



Chinese tycoon Wang Jianlin blames Western education for his son's controversial remark that potential girlfriends needed to be "buxom".

No any word "only" in the other reports - not the same meaning.
A lot of other guys would say the same thing and have the same requirement and no one would accuse them being anything other than guys.
"cherchez la bosom",

I actually couldn't find out exactly what he said or the original text it was but the "rack" quote sounds has the most verisimilitude.

He was just too candid with State Media in the public eye. which is not much different than gaffing in the Western PC media Not good if he wants a political career.

Anyway, as the most eligible bachelor, he now is probably getting lot of propositions from Hunan and Henan. ;)
It pays to advertise.
--------------------------------

But now the iPhones. the only thing I can think that the dog might use them for is as chew toys. The ones from the dollar store would probably taste better.
..
But this is not really crazy or pointless. He is just asserting his place in the social order. This is an example of Thornstein Veblens' Conspicuous Consumption Theory. You have something extremely valuable like the White House Lawn and then you don't use it for grazing sheep or cattle. This asserts your power and status over the community .
(In this case over America lol ).
..
Now think of all the poor homeless people that could have used those 37,000 dollar Apple watches to better their lives.
Funny thing is that no one with a cell phone these days seems to have a watch.

[GeneChing]

Wonder if they will whitewash (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?66153-yellow-face-white-washing) this. Cuz I don't think I'll understand it unless there is a white character to 'xplain it to me. :rolleyes:


‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Adaptation Lands at Warner Bros. (EXCLUSIVE) (http://variety.com/2016/film/news/crazy-rich-asians-movie-jon-chu-warner-bros-1201895221/)
Brent Lang
Senior Film and Media Reporter
@BrentALang

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/jon-m-chu.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1
ANDREW H. WALKER/VARIETY/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
OCTOBER 20, 2016 | 11:26AM PT

Warner Bros. has acquired “Crazy Rich Asians” and has fast-tracked the romantic-comedy for production. It will be one of the only major studio movies to feature an exclusively Asian cast. Rights for the project attracted a heated bidding war.

“Crazy Rich Asians” unfolds in a world of opulence, as new and old money collide among a set of Chinese families living in Singapore. It’s being pitched as a combination of “Devil Wears Prada” and “Pride & Prejudice,” and follows Rachel Chu, a Chinese-American economics professor and her boyfriend, Nick Young. When Nick invites Rachel to attend his best friend’s wedding in his home town of Singapore, he fails to mention that as the heir to a massive fortune, he is viewed as the country’s most eligible bachelor.

Color Force’s Nina Jacobson her partner Brad Simpson came on board two years ago when Kevin Kwan’s book of the same name was still in the manuscript stage.

“It was just a page turner in and of itself,” said Jacobson. “It was a delight to be taken into this world that as a Westerner I didn’t know. It felt so new and fresh and gave you so much insight.”

Color Force, which produced “The Hunger Games” series, brought in Ivanhoe Pictures, the maker of “In the Bedroom,” and developed the project and packaged the film with Jon M. Chu directing from a screenplay by Adele Lim (Fox’s “Lethal Weapon”) and Pete Chiarelli (“The Proposal”). To get the gig, Chu, a first-generation Asian-American, put together a visual presentation that included family photos to show his deeply personal connection to the material.

Jacobson and Simpson knew that finding the right studio home would take a lot of time and effort. Aside from “The Joy Luck Club,” which was a hit when it came out in 1993, and “Memoirs of a Geisha,” which was not when it bowed 12 years later, there have been very few U.S.-backed films centered around Asian characters and experiences. It also comes at a time when the romantic-comedy genre is struggling. It’s been a long time since “Pretty Woman” and “Notting Hill” filled theaters, and with a few exceptions, such as “Trainwreck,” most studios have largely stopped making meet-cute films. The “Crazy Rich Asians” producers think that there story and setting is a novel way to revive the genre.

“At a time where we keep asking how we can compete with TV and other offerings, it’s important to give people something different,” said Simpson. “We’re taking them to a world that hasn’t been shown much on film.”

The story may be a rarity for Hollywood, but it hits at a time when the issue of diversity is being hotly debated across the entertainment industry. The Chinese film market is second only to the U.S., but despite its box office contribution, very few films feature Asian characters. Only 5% of speaking parts in film, television, and digital programming were played by Asian actors in all of 2014, according to a study by USC. Indeed, there have been several instances of white actors playing roles that were originally designated for Asians, including Emma Stone in “Aloha” and Scarlett Johansson in the upcoming “Ghost in the Shell.”

“Inclusion is good business,” said Jacobson. “Inclusion is a way of reaching new and broader audiences and keeping material fresh.”

Production may begin as early as this spring in Singapore. The producers are embarking on a worldwide search for the cast. “Crazy Rich Asians” was a bestseller upon release, with nearly one million copies in print worldwide. Kwan saw the novel as the first in a trilogy. His follow-up, “China Rich Girlfriend,” was a commercial success, and the last installment in the series, “Rich People Problems,” debuts next summer. Kwan felt so strongly that Color Force and Ivanhoe were the right companies to produce the film that he optioned the novel for a dollar.

“I am beyond thrilled that the amazing film my fans around the world have been waiting for is finally happening,” said Kwan in a statement. “I have such tremendous respect and trust in Nina, Brad, Jon, and Warner Bros, and I know they are going to create an incredible, history-making movie.”

Simpson and Jacobson will produce along with Ivanhoe President John Penotti. Kwan will serve as executive producer along with Ivanhoe’s Chairman Robert Friedland. Courtenay Valenti and Jon Gonda will oversee the project for Warner Bros. The studio has been trying to increase diversity both in front of and behind the camera — it lined up a female director in Patty Jenkins to oversee “Wonder Woman,” and enlisted African-American filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa to oversee “The Flash.”

The deal for “Crazy Rich Asians” was negotiated by Ziffren Brittenham LLP. Kwan is represented by Alexandra Machinist at ICM and Chu by WME and Principato Young.

[GeneChing]

...where can I apply? ;)



As son refuses father’s fortune, China’s richest man seeks ‘application’ for heir (http://en.southlive.in/world/2016/12/13/as-son-refuses-fathers-fortune-chinas-richest-man-seeks-application-for-heir)
December 13, 2016, 10:05 am

http://quintype-01.imgix.net/southlive-english%2F2016-12%2F9cafea5f-4070-4698-850d-e9d512c2f66b%2F0208_wang-jianlin-amc_1200x675-1200x675.jpg?auto=format&rect=0,0,1280,720&q=60&fm=pjpeg

The richest man in China, Wang Jianlin, owning a $92 billion (620600 crore) empire, on Sunday said he is looking for a successor, most likely from a group of professional managers, to take over his business after his son apparently declined to take over his empire.

The 62-year-old, founder and chairman of Dalian Wanda Group Co, whose business includes shopping malls, theme parks, sports clubs and cinemas, said he is most likely to pick from a group of professional managers to take over the running of his business.


I have asked my son about the succession plan, and he said he does not want to live a life like I do. Perhaps young people have their own quests and priorities. Probably it will be better to hand over to professional managers and we sit on the board and see them run the company
- Wang Jianlin

Wang was speaking at China Entrepreneurs Summit on Monday.

The wealthy scions of China's billionaire entrepreneurs, known as fu'erdai are increasingly striking different paths, as more than three decades of break-neck economic growth and overseas education have given them different experiences, worldview and aspirations from their parents.

Over 80 percent of Chinese heirs are not keen on assuming the reins of their parents' businesses, a survey by the Shanghai Jiaotong University, covering 182 of the country's top family-run companies said.

Some were backing off due to intense pressures, while others simply were pursuing other career interests, study by the association of Chinese private enterprises showed, the Post report said.

Dalian Wanda, founded in the port city of Dalian in 1988, is the epitome of China's rags-to-wealth story, where it grew from a small property developer into a conglomerate operating malls, hotels, theme parks and the world's largest chain of movie cinemas.

In the process, it's made Mr Wang and his only son immensely wealthy.

Wang, who visited India and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed to invest about $10 billion in a Chinese project in Haryana.

Following a worldwide buying spree that added AMC Entertainment, the Hoyts Group and Odeon and UCI Cinemas, Mr Wanda now operates the world's largest chain of cinemas, with more than 10,000 screens.

It also owns hotels operated by Westin and Sofitel, as well as shopping malls and plans to build as many as 15 multibillion-yuan theme parks around the country.

After snapping up stakes in European football clubs, Wanda is now turning its sights on Hollywood, announcing plans to purchase Dick Clark Productions in November that granted it the broadcasting rights to Golden Globe Awards.

[GeneChing]

The Story About A Chinese Lesbian Billionaire Couple Is Very, Very Fake (https://www.buzzfeed.com/kassycho/make-them-billionaires-buy-their-album?bftwnews=undefined&utm_term=.tvqNNNdxVz#.lm9WWWm6ZD)
"That WJSN lesbian billionaires fake news tweet saved 2017."
Posted on April 29, 2017, at 3:26 a.m.
Kassy Cho
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Ikran Dahir
BuzzFeed News Reporter

A tweet about two lesbian Chinese billionaires who got married and became the world's richest couple alive has gone viral.

[BREAKING] Lesbian Chinese Billionaires, Meng Mei Qi and Wu Xuan Yi, marry. Making them the richest couple alive.
4:00 PM - 26 Apr 2017
23,281 23,281 Retweets 39,148 39,148 likes
The news that Meng Mei Qi and Wu Xuan Yi were married was shared by thousands of people, including former Disney Channel star Debby Ryan.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/3/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/sub-buzz-18925-1493366375-3.png
Twitter: @DebbyRyan
People were shook.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/3/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/sub-buzz-19345-1493365589-1.png
Twitter: @alocalteen

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/4/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/sub-buzz-19291-1493366727-1.png
Twitter: @SpellmanNaomi

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/3/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-02/sub-buzz-32240-1493365786-1.png
Twitter: @chel_c_cam

Just one problem, Meng and Wu are not a couple, and nor are they billionaires. They are, however, members of the South Korean-Chinese band Cosmic Girls, also known as WJSN.

instagram.com (https://www.instagram.com/p/BTL0sfSjswc/)

The photo of Meng and Wu was taken earlier this week at the Beijing International Film Festival, and uploaded by fellow WJSN member Xuan Yi on to her Weibo page.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/5/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/sub-buzz-21592-1493370821-2.png
weibo.com

And the story was put together by K-pop fans, who, as it appears, were just trying to promote their faves.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/6/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/sub-buzz-25427-1493376702-14.png
Twitter: @misswujuniverse

The teenager behind the original tweet, Abby Fry, told BuzzFeed News that she came up with the joke because she thought it would amuse ujungs, WJSN's fan group, and never expected it to go so big.
'I thought they looked like they were at a wedding with the dresses they were wearing and the dresses sure looked expensive,' Fry said.She said that she thought people would fact-check first, but added that it 'just shows the power of what we want to happen.'
Twitter: @merrymeiqi
"I thought they looked like they were at a wedding with the dresses they were wearing and the dresses sure looked expensive," Fry said.
She said that she thought people would fact-check first, but added that it "just shows the power of what we want to happen."
Stans obviously found it hilarious.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/6/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-03/sub-buzz-31511-1493375245-11.png
Twitter: @misswujuniverse

And continued with their top-notch trolling.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/6/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-02/sub-buzz-6274-1493376769-3.png

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/4/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-03/sub-buzz-26901-1493367017-1.png
Twitter: @floweryflesh

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/4/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-02/sub-buzz-1169-1493367190-1.png
Twitter: @rapkays
continued next post

[GeneChing]

They even shared pictures of the "happy couple".

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/4/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-03/sub-buzz-27124-1493367112-1.png
Twitter: @floweryflesh


Follow
av �� @greyjinsook
good night i love the richest couple alive ����
9:20 PM - 27 Apr 2017
22 22 Retweets 24 24 likes
The plot escalated with an equally fake murder.

View image on TwitterView image on Twitter
Follow
宇宙少女48�� @uzzucam
mei qi murdered her husband, married a girl,and became the richest gay couple alive she really did that
2:52 PM - 27 Apr 2017
29,714 29,714 Retweets 40,761 40,761 likes
And that they had ~history~.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/5/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-03/sub-buzz-29287-1493371086-15.png
Twitter: @greyjinsook

They also didn't forget to promote their album.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/4/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-03/sub-buzz-26794-1493367135-1.png
Twitter: @rootsmihyun

People are praising the stans for pulling off the ultimate scam.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/4/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-02/sub-buzz-846-1493366551-3.png
Twitter: @nyakutagawa

But it wasn't long before people caught onto the joke.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/6/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/sub-buzz-25400-1493376834-2.png
Twitter: @ohmomona

And are now spreading the word.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/6/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/sub-buzz-25402-1493376883-9.png
Twitter: @prismwaves

Which left some very disappointed.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/6/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-02/sub-buzz-7170-1493376921-1.png
Twitter: @currypuffs

Ujungs, however, feel that the joke has saved 2017.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-04/28/6/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/sub-buzz-26308-1493376944-1.png
Twitter: @Suendenfall

Kassy Cho is a reporter with BuzzFeed New

I know, I know, really random news post. I just wanted to make a post with the heading 'Fake Chinese Lesbian Billionaires'[/QUOTE]

[GeneChing]

From internet sensation to China's youngest female billionaire: meet 24-year-old Zhang Zetian (http://www.businessinsider.com/zhang-zetian-chinas-youngest-female-billionaire-2017-8/#this-is-24-year-old-zhang-zetian-who-also-goes-by-nancy-1)
Alexandra Ma
Aug. 6, 2017, 6:32 AM 543,921

It's not every day that you see a 24-year-old female billionaire — let alone one that first found fame through a viral photo.

Zhang Zetian was listed in Chinese New Fortune magazine's top 500 rich list this May, making her the youngest female billionaire in the country. The accolade has been repeated in by Chinese and Hong Kong media like the South China Morning Post newspaper and Jing Daily online magazine.

China is home to many young female billionaires, many of whom are self-made.

Thanks to Zhang's well-groomed Instagram page, we're about learn a little more about her life. Take a look at the slides below to learn more about the young billionaire.

http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5986f04527fa6b30f77d3766-1200/this-is-24-year-old-zhang-zetian-who-also-goes-by-nancy.jpg
This is 24-year-old Zhang Zetian, who also goes by Nancy.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

Zhang first rose to fame in 2009 when a photo of her holding a cup of tea went viral.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CExrU5NUUAAbCSl.jpg
View image on Twitter
Follow
科技新闻 @cntechnews
搜狐摊上事儿了：被奶茶妹妹起诉 要赔170万
编者按：近日，“奶茶妹妹”章泽天分别起诉北京搜狐互联网信息服务有限公司、华某（2http ://www.mychinanews.com/news/n/7/1028966 …
8:45 PM - May 11, 2015
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Zhang, then in her mid-teens, was given the Chinese nickname Naicha meimei or “milk tea little sister”.

In 2014, she starred in a promotional video for that summer's Youth Olympics in Nanjing.

http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/598870f58754333c2953da76-1200/in-2014-she-starred-in-a-promotional-video-for-that-summers-youth-olympics-in-nanjing.jpg
Titi Tran/YouTube

However, she resisted further fame, according, according to SCMP, and refused a movie role by by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who made "House of Flying Daggers" and "The Great Wall."

She was admitted into China’s prestigious Tsinghua University in 2011, and spent one year on exchange at New York’s Barnard College.


https://instagram.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t51.2885-15/e15/11377774_1451781305120168_1623465513_n.jpg

zetianzzz
Follow
guess what! im here!��┏ (^ω^)=☞
Like
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667 likes
zetianzzzguess what! im here!��┏ (^ω^)=☞


It was there that she met her future husband Liu Qiangdong, who is 19 years her senior.


https://instagram.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t51.2885-15/e35/19984668_117022738923146_811236261841862656_n.jpg

She captioned the above photo "Got photographed by the paparazzi again."

The couple publicly denied their relationship for a long time, saying they were "just classmates," according to New Fortune magazine.

Liu, who also goes by Richard, is the 16th richest person in China.
http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5986f04527fa6b30f77d3769-1200/liu-who-also-goes-by-richard-is-the-16th-richest-person-in-china.jpg
Andrew Burton/Getty

Liu had the 16th-highest net worth in China last year, according to Forbes' China Rich List. The publication also ranked him the 174th richest billionaire in the world.


He's the founder and CEO of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com — one of Alibaba’s major competitors.

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5986f04527fa6b30f77d376a-1200/hes-the-founder-and-ceo-of-chinese-e-commerce-company-jdcom--one-of-alibabas-major-competitors.jpg
Liu Qiangdong celebrates his company's initial public offering on the Nasdaq exchange in 2014.Andrew Burton/Getty

JD.com had over 236 million active customer accounts in FY 2016, the company's financial statements noted. Alibaba recorded 423 active accounts the year before.

The couple married in August 2015.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQh4CPdUEAAImwH.jpg
View image on Twitter
Follow
娱乐快讯 @yulekuaixun
奶茶妹妹领衔一结婚直奔后妈位置的10大女星
奶茶妹妹领衔一结婚就当后妈的10大女星 后妈难当，所以能做人后妈的女子，勇气实属可http://www.mychinanews.com/news/n/2/1212252 …
10:15 PM - Oct 4, 2015
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Twitter Ads info and privacy
News of the nuptials got out thanks this photo of the couple in a Beijing courthouse.

Continued next post

[GeneChing]

They welcomed their first child — a girl — in March 2016. A few months later, the couple invested in an Australian baby formula company.

https://instagram.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t51.2885-15/e35/18513330_1433240870068715_7627355622656180224_n.jp g
Zhang and Liu bought a 17.3% stake in Bubs Australia, The Australian reported.

This wasn't their only personal investment. Zhang and her husband's personal portfolio consist of six companies, including Uber China.

https://instagram.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t51.2885-15/e35/19623673_287731128300401_7132751582600364032_n.jpg

Zhang can be partially credited for JD.com's success, as she helps promote the site's fashion and luxury goods businesses.

https://instagram.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t51.2885-15/s750x750/sh0.08/e35/18161037_2283411311884873_1550563939241164800_n.jp g

The fashion aficionado met industry legend Iris Apfel this April.

https://instagram.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t51.2885-15/e35/18011506_442563796096849_1943313843484622848_n.jpg

Zhang met up with the 95-year-old fashion icon again in New York earlier this week.

She's also mingled with other influential people — such as Bill Gates, Canadian Governor General David Johnston and David Beckham.

https://instagram.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t51.2885-15/e35/17495243_1209953345785293_7638354763318296576_n.jp

Zhang's travels have taken her to Paris, Bordeaux, Cannes, California, Geneva, Milan, Venice and Cambridge — this summer alone.

https://instagram.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t51.2885-15/e35/18381915_1321396524644520_1132586440778055680_n.jp g

The social media-savvy investor documents her travels on her Instagram feed.

The internet is a gold mine if you're cute and savvy.

[GeneChing]

Shocking footage shows little boy driving a Maserati on a road as his father films and flaunts his 'talent' (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4898412/Young-boy-drives-Maserati-busy-Chinese-road.html)
Father filmed his son driving a Maserati on a road in Xinyang, China
The child, aged four or five, had his hands firmly on the steering wheel
He was dubbed 'the most impressive rich kid' by his father in a viral video
By Tiffany Lo For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 07:48 EDT, 19 September 2017 | UPDATED: 09:22 EDT, 19 September 2017

A shocking video which shows a little boy driving a Maserati on a road has sparked an outcry in China.

The footage was taken by an onboard passenger and it shows the boy driving the luxurious car confidently.

The passenger can be heard complimenting the boy: 'You're the most impressive rich kid in the city.'

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/19/11/4478AC7E00000578-4898412-image-m-7_1505816170014.jpghttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/19/11/4478AC8A00000578-4898412-image-a-8_1505816180850.jpg
A young boy was seen driving a Maserati as its steering wheel logo suggested (left). The boy can be seen looking to the side while driving (right) in Xinyang, China's Henan Province

According to Yang Cheng Evening Post, the video was believed to be taken by the boy's father.

The boy, appeared to be four or five years old, can be seen steering the wheel of a Maserati car with both hands.

There were three people including the boy in the car when the video was taken.

It is reported that the boy was driving on Hang Kong road in Xinyang, Henan Province.

Cars and trucks can be seen passing fast as the boy drove along the road.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/19/10/4478976000000578-0-image-a-16_1505812141166.jpg
The boy's father said in the video that the boy is 'the most impressive rich kid in the city' as the boy confidently drove on a busy road (left and right)

His father said in the footage that children in kindergartens were not able to drive a car at this age.

He then asked his son to give him a thumbs up, but the boy neglected.

Another man said they put their lives in the boy's hands.

According to China's Road Traffic Safety Law, the trio had already violated the regulations as the underage boy drove motorised vehicle without a licence.

Web users has responded on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media site.

'AuHoiYuen' and few other web users suggested some of the Maserati models are autonomous or semi-autonomous.

However, 'FeiYangYangARSENAL' commented to ask local traffic officers to look into the violations of traffic safety whether or not the car is on auto pilot.

'M33666' said: 'All he wants to do is to show how rich he is!'


Wait...maseratis have auto-pilot? :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

05/09/2013 11:52 am ET Updated Jul 09, 2013
Kong Dongmei, Granddaughter Of Mao Zedong, Appears On China Rich List (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/09/kong-dongmei-china-rich-list-mao_n_3244297.html?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003)
Agence France Presse

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1128804/images/h-KONG-DONGMEI-CHINA-RICH-LIST-628x314.jpg
GETTY IMAGES

The appearance of a grand-daughter of Mao Zedong, founding father of Communist China, on a list of the country’s richest citizens prompted online accusations of hypocrisy Thursday.

Kong Dongmei, now in her early 40s, and husband Chen Dongsheng ranked 242th with personal wealth estimated at five billion yuan ($815 million) on a rich list released this month by New Fortune, a Chinese financial magazine.

Kong is the grand-daughter of Mao and his third wife He Zizhen. In 2001 she founded a book store in Beijing selling publications about Mao and promoting “Red Culture” after studying at the University of Pennsylvania in the US.

In 2011, Kong married Chen, who controls an insurance company, an auction house and a courier firm, after they had maintained an extramarital relationship for 15 years, according to the magazine, which cited other Chinese media reports.

The couple have two daughters and a son, said New Fortune — likely to be a violation of China’s one-child policy.

Kong’s inclusion on the rich list triggered hot debate on China’s Twitter-like weibos, with some accusing her of betraying her grandfather’s status as the “great teacher of proletariat revolution”.

“The offspring of Chairman Mao, who led us to eradicate private ownership, married a capitalist and violated the family planning policy to give birth to three illegal children,” wrote Luo Chongmin, a government advisor in southwest China.

China has implemented the one-child policy for many urban residents for over 30 years, although there have been recent suggestions that the rules may be loosened.

“Did Kong Dongmei... pay any fines after being a mistress for more than 10 years and giving birth to three kids?” asked another user with the online handle Virtual Liangshao.

But others argued that the millions were actually her husband’s, who made his fortune before they were married.

“Kong just married a wealthy husband. You can’t attribute it to Mao,” said weibo user Wang Nanfang in a posting.

Well that's a twist. :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

A tycoon (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao) gets shut down. Not just any tycoon - Wanda (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69324-Wanda-amp-AMC)'s Wang Jianlin. :eek:


China is shutting down this billionaire's golf courses amid fears the sport breeds corruption (http://www.businessinsider.com/wang-jianlin-china-orders-dalian-wanda-golf-courses-shut-down-2017-10)
Alexandra Ma

http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/578b2de7dd0895c8308b45aa-2400/wang%20jianlin.jpg
Wang Jianlin. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Two luxury golf courses have been ordered to shut down in China, where the sport has been declared an elitist "sport for millionaires."

In a notice published on its website, Fusong County ordered the Changbaishan International Tourism Resort to shut down its golf courses. It did not give a reason for the closure.

The statement said the order came on September 9, but was only published on the county government's website last Friday.

The Changbaishan resort is owned by the Dalian Wanda Group, a Chinese real estate conglomerate founded by billionaire Wang Jianlin. As of Tuesday, Forbes listed Wang as the richest man in China with a net worth of $31.4 billion (£23.7 billion).

The 21 square kilometre resort boasts one 18-hole golf course, one 36-hole golf course, 43 ski slopes, luxury hotels, a tourist town, and ski cabins, Wanda's website said. The golf courses were designed by American golfer Jack Nicklaus and architect Robert Jones. The tourist town has a theatre and hot spring bathhouse, and the hotels include chains from the Park Hyatt, Westin, Sheraton and Holiday Inn.

It's unclear whether these other sections of the resort will also be made to shut down. According to Wanda's website, the Changbaishan resort is one of the real estate group's first forays into national tourism.

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/59e5da6a06fca0781f254611-1429/changbaishan%20resort.png
One of the Changbaishan International Resort's golf courses, as seen in the Wanda Group's promotional video. Dalian Wanda Group

Golf has long been regarded unfavourably in China. Mao Zedong, the leader of the country's Communist Party and founding father of the People's Republic of China, banned the sport in 1949 after dismissing it as a "sport for millionaires."

In 2015, President Xi Jinping banned Communist Party officials from playing golf in an effort to crack down on corruption. Golf remains on the list of the party's disciplinary violations and is often cited in corruption cases, Reuters reported.

"Like fine liquor and tobacco, fancy cars, and fancy houses, golf has become a public relations tool that businessmen use to 'hook' officials," the official newspaper of China's anti-corruption agency declared in an April 2015 editorial. "The golf course is gradually turning into a place where they trade money for power."

There is no suggestion that the order to shut down Wang's golf courses is in any way related to corruption. In January, China's state planning commission said it had shut down 111 out of the country's 683 golf courses.

The news of Changbaishan's order to close comes days before China's 19th Communist Party Congress on October 18, a massive meeting for the country's leadership which takes places every five years. Pundits expect President Xi Jinping to further consolidate his power in the upcoming congress.

[GeneChing]

Ma Dadong just leaped to the top of my cool tycoons list.


https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_1100,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_619,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171219122847-03-original-amanyangyun.jpg

ONE SQUARE METER
Ancient village saved by Chinese philanthropist opens as Shanghai resort (http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/aman-shanghai-osm/index.html)
Casey Hall, CNN • Published 9th January 2018

Shanghai (CNN) — According to Confucius: "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

Chinese entrepreneur Ma Dadong, 44, didn't want to move a mountain, but his mission to relocate ancient village homes and a camphor forest 435 miles (700 kilometers), from his native Jiangxi province to the outskirts of Shanghai, would require a similar level of perseverance.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_634,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171219122924-04-original-amanyangyun.jpg
The village and trees in their original location in Fuzhou.
AMAN

Over a 15-year period, in what must be one of the most extraordinary examples of philanthropic conservation in modern China, Ma orchestrated the painstaking transportation of 50 Ming and Qing dynasty properties and 10,000 trees, some of which were believed to be over 1,000 years old.
On January 8, the relocated site will open as a luxury hotel, Amanyangyun, the last two words in that portmanteau meaning "nourishing cloud."

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_634,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171218134751-08-amanyangyun.jpg
AMAN

Success story

Ma left his home city of Fuzhou, aged 22, to earn what would become a fortune in advertising. He subsequently diversified and today is chairman of the Shanghai Gu Shan, an investment management company, and Shanghai Gu Yin Real Estate. While Ma hasn't featured on any Forbes rich lists and his companies are privately held, he is rumored to be a billionaire.
In 2002, aged 29, the entrepreneur made a trip home to visit his parents. During that visit, Ma learned of the government's plans for the Liao Fang reservoir -- a project that would submerge ancient villages and millenarium camphor trees in Jiangxi underwater.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_634,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171219165119-08-original-amanyangyun.jpg
Construction of the dam that land was flooded to build was completed in 2006.
Aman

"My instincts told me what to do: to rescue everything from the area destined for the reservoir," Ma tells CNN. "At that time, I knew it was the right thing to do, but I didn't have a clear goal of what I would eventually do with these houses and trees."
Having recently sold his advertising company, Ma says he had the financial resources to throw at the rescue mission, although he won't confirm the cost of the project beyond saying it totaled millions of dollars.

Learning curve

The project turned out to be a huge learning curve, with unexpected issues constantly arising. "The whole process was just like digging a well -- you don't know exactly how many meters deep the water is, but you are certain you will reach it if you just keep digging," says Ma.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_634,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171218135537-16-amanyangyun.jpg
Bricks are marked with numbers before the houses are reconstructed.
AMAN

Each residence was comprised of about 100,000 stones, and had to be carefully dissembled. Ma cast a wide net to hire a team of more than 200 people to perform that task, seeking out rare craftsman who understood the traditional techniques used to build ancient properties, which are unfamiliar to modern Chinese construction workers.
Arborists were enlisted to move the trees, and new roads and bridges had to be built to allow large trucks to maneuver the massive camphors from the remote location. Some were 20 meters tall, and the largest weighed 80 tons.
"The village was in a mountainous region with small, winding roads and no way for big trucks to pass through," says Ma. "The task was not without danger. When it rained, floods overturned trucks and shattered the temporary bridges constructed to access remote villages."

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_634,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171218140143-24-amanyangyun.jpg
Bricks and stones are organized and stored before they are used to build the new resort in Shanghai.
AMAN

Ma decided to store the dissembled homes in a former air conditioning unit factory he owned on the outskirts of Shanghai, and identified a nearby 200,000 square meter parcel of public land to eventually house the trees, despite the vast distance the objects would have to travel to get there.
"The team raced against time to Shanghai in order for each tree to have the best of chance of survival," said Ma. The project saw dozens of trucks make numerous trips over a 12-month period.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_634,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171218135506-15-amanyangyun.jpg
The camphor forest at its new site in Shanghai.
AMAN

After being uprooted, the trees' root system -- which can stretch as wide as their branches span -- have to be constantly watered as well as protected from overexposure to sunshine.
Due to the work of the expert arborists, 80% of the trees survived the journey, and just over 1,000 of them are now featured in the Aman resort. The others, planted on public land, will form a park that Ma says will eventually be open to the public.
Finding a future for the past
By 2005, everything had been relocated to Shanghai's outer Minhang district, about 30km from the city center, still with no plan for their future.
"When all the trees arrived in Shanghai, we met many people who wanted to buy them. I could not sell even one of them because I wanted all the trees to be together," Ma says. "I grew up in the sweet company of those trees and houses; I had a poignant and emotional tie to them."

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_634,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171219122640-01-original-amanyangyun.jpg
The relocated materials were stored in a former air conditioning unit factory in Shanghai.
AMAN

That year Ma created what he calls the "Concept House" -- an experiment which used some of the relocated ancient materials to create a new home incorporating modern plumbing and windows to let in more natural light.
The rest of the materials were logged in the warehoused and left to wait.

Perfect partner

In 2011, Aman inked a deal with Ma to transform the dissembled ancient Jiangxi village homes, which were between 300 and 500 years old, and some of the trees, into a hotel property and public park. The international hotel group had learned of the Chinese entrepreneur's trove after Ma had a chance meeting with Aman's Indonesian founder and former chairman Adrian Zecha.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_634,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171218135246-11-amanyangyun.jpg
Thhe master bedroom in an Antique Villa.
AMAN

Neither party will confirm details of the deal.
The resort features 24 new one-bedroom courtyard suites and 13 "antique villas," which have four bedrooms and incorporate the rebuilt ancient Jiangxi village homes. Once visitors cross the threshold of the ancient stone exteriors, however, there is little resemblance to the village homes of centuries past inside -- although there are still courtyards within each property.

The root of the problem

The project, however, hasn't been without controversy.
Aman said in its initial press literature that its new resort featured 10,000 relocated camphor trees. In reality, only about 1,150 on the property. The Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) confirmed to CNN that it is investigating whether Aman was misleading about the number of trees, and their age (not all of the camphors are ancient) to make a financial gain.
Furthermore, ancient trees -- classified as those over 80 years old -- are governed by heritage protection laws severely restricting what can be done with them. The laws are designed to protect old-growth forests from being felled, or trees being damaged as they are transplanted from one place to another. It is unclear how Ma's project complied with this legislation.
Neither Ma nor Aman were prepared to comment on any potential investigation.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/w_634,dpr_1.0,c_fill,g_auto,h_357,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F171219122954-05-original-amanyangyun.jpg
The village in its original location.
AMAN

China doesn't have a stellar track record when it comes to preservation in the face of economic development. In 2002, at around the same time Ma learned of the Liao Fang reservoir, many hundreds of villages and a total of 1.4 million people were in the process of being resettled to make way for the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydro-electric project. Of the 632 square kilometers flooded for that project, the majority was covered by forest. The result was deforestation and interruption in traditional biospheres that is still being examined.
Today, the area where the Fuzhou villages and trees once stood is flooded.
Ma says he is simply pleased he has rescued a slice of history from being lost to the water.

[GeneChing]

Chinese Tycoon Wang Jian Falls to His Death While on a Business Trip in France (http://time.com/5330610/china-hna-group-chairman-wang-jian-death-france/)
By ASSOCIATED PRESS 9:52 PM EDT

(BEIJING) — The co-chairman of HNA Group, a conglomerate that operates China’s fourth-largest airline and finance, logistics and other businesses around the world, died in an accident while on a business trip in France, the company said Wednesday.

Wang Jian, a co-founder of the company, suffered “severe injuries” in a fall in Provence in southern France and died Tuesday at age 57, said an HNA Group statement. It gave no other details.

Regional French media outlet France Bleu said Wang fell a dozen or so meters (yards) while taking photos on a high wall in Bonnieux, a town in a region famed for its panoramic views.

Launched in 1993 on the southern island of Hainan, HNA expanded into finance, hotels, logistics and other businesses in a multibillion-dollar global acquisition spree.

More recently, HNA has been selling some assets as Chinese regulators tighten lending controls and press companies to rein in debt.

Wang graduated from the Civil Aviation University of China and received an MBA from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands, according to his company.

HNA agreed last year to acquire a hedge fund operated by Anthony Scaramucci, an aide to U.S. President Donald Trump. That never received regulatory approval and the two sides called off the deal in April.
Suspicious? Authorities aren't treating it so.

[GeneChing]

Billionaire Rita Tong Liu’s incredible story of breaking barriers to become Hong Kong’s fourth richest woman
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 04 July, 2018, 9:01am
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 July, 2018, 12:10pm
Pearl Liu

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/07/05/184bc940-7e8e-11e8-8c40-58d9485981d4_1280x720_121000.JPG?itok=3HED9tcC

Real estate tycoon Rita Tong Liu, the fourth-richest woman in Hong Kong, has quite the story – she turned a family gift of HK$1 million into a business worth US$3.4 billion.

In the early 1970s she received the money from her husband’s family to begin investing. That, along with land in Macau that was passed on by her mother, helped lay the foundation for a success story, elevating Liu, chairman of property firm Gale Well Group, into the No 25 spot on Forbes Asia’s list of Hong Kong’s 50 wealthiest this year.

“There is no such thing as always winning, I just gained more than I lost when I failed,” Liu said.

Liu, 70, is estimated to have built up a fortune worth US$3.4 billion and said careful calculation and risk assessment were crucial to her success.

“We are not buying much recently as we see that interest rates are going to rise and borrowing money will be expensive,” Liu said.

Being cautious seems a bit of a mismatch for Liu, a devout Catholic who radiates matronly warmth and yet is renowned for bold property acquisitions. A high-profile example was the purchase of more than 3,000 car parks in the early 2000s, which earned her the title ‘queen of car-parks’.

The story of how Liu’s attention became focused on parking in Hong Kong speaks to her ability to turn an unfortunate situation into an opportunity.

In the 1990s her family’s company Gale Well Group was caught flat-footed when Beijing unexpectedly began to tighten credit, putting her investments in the mainland under financial strain.

With dwindling cash flow, Liu decided investing in car parks was more prudent, given that such assets were cheaper, offering better value for money than residential or commercial buildings.

The decision helped the company to get through the property downturn in 2003, when the Sars epidemic shattered investors’ confidence, sending property values plummeting.

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/07/05/4243d73e-7e9c-11e8-8c40-58d9485981d4_1320x770_121000.JPG
On her 70th birthday Rita Tong Liu made a donation of HK$80 million to Caritas Institute of Higher Education to help the school to gain accreditation as Saint Francis University. Photo: SCMP

“It was actually a safe choice. It may not fetch a high return yield in the short term, but it will also not depreciate much,” said Liu, referring to the investments in parking.

However, being cautious at the right time does not mean staying defensive. Liu’s property portfolio has shifted focus to office space, where she foresees a continuing rise in demand, driven by China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

“There will never be a lack of corporate tenants in the city. Companies overseas or from the mainland will come to get a spot as Hong Kong will remain a financing hub in the region,” said Liu.

The veteran property investor believes low vacancy rates will push up rents in Grade A buildings as well as smaller, older buildings outside the core business district.

“With a price of HK$20,000 per square foot, there is still a wide range of office space in good locations to buy. What kind of flat can you get with that?” she said.

Her current portfolio of commercial property, according to Forbes, includes the China Insurance Group Building, Austin Plaza, 23 Queen’s Road East and three other office towers. She also holds entire floors in the Grand Millennium Plaza, Shun Tak Centre, Far East Financial Centre and the Lippo Centre.

“We also wanted to buy The Center,” Liu said, referring to unsuccessful attempts to buy stakes in the fifth tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong.

Liu said the assets worth HK$1 million (US$127,473 at today’s exchange rate) she received from the family of her late husband Liu Lit-ching proved to be gold in helping her gain a head start.

Her husband was the eighth of nine sons of Liu Po-shan, founder of Chong Hing Bank.

“It was big bucks back then,” Liu said.

In the 1970s, HK$1 million could buy four 600-square foot flats in Taikoo Shing, a mass residential estate in the city. Now, one similar-sized flat in Taikoo Shing would fetch HK$12 million.

Liu initially used the money to buy land and property in Macau in the early 1970s, taking inspiration from her grandparents and parents who were experienced landholders with a focus in warehousing.

Liu, described as a tomboy by her younger brothers, does not believe in the old Chinese saying, “least said, soonest mended”.

“If you do not say, how could others know?” she said, recalling that no one dared to hire her when she returned from overseas studies in the US. “If I did not ask my brother-in-law to offer me a job in Chong Hing Bank, I may have never started working.”

Liu and her two younger brothers recently donated HK$80 million to the Caritas Institute of Higher Education to help the school upgrade its accreditation as Saint Francis University, becoming the first Catholic university in the city.

“The competition in Hong Kong has been getting more and more fierce, and it is important to offer better education and career training to the young generation,” said Liu.

HK Real Estate is some of the most expensive

[GeneChing]

Another billionaire loses more money than I can even conceive of ever having... :rolleyes:


This Asian Billionaire Has Lost 74 Percent of Her Fortune (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-25/biggest-wealth-rout-in-asia-makes-her-the-queen-of-shellshocked)
By Blake Schmidt
July 25, 2018, 11:37 AM PDT Updated on July 25, 2018, 10:29 PM PDT

Kingston’s Chu loses $6.2 billion on year, or 74% of fortune
The local press has dubbed her the ‘queen of shell companies’

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/i79Nc0apGr.8/v1/800x-1.jpg
Pollyanna Chu Source: Imaginechina

The “queen of shell companies” had already been dethroned as Hong Kong’s richest woman.

Now Pollyanna Chu Yuet Wah, whose Kingston Financial Group Ltd. operates Macau casinos and margin-lending businesses, has lost 74 percent of her fortune, the biggest destruction of individual wealth this year in Asia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. After starting the year at No. 183 with $8.4 billion, she’s currently worth $2.2 billion and has dropped off the list.

The decline of her fortune deepened after Kingston reported fiscal 2018 profit of HK$1.4 billion ($178.4 million), a 9 percent drop from a year earlier, as soured margin loans increased. The firm gets most of its financing from unsecured loans provided cheaply by Chu and her family, according to an analysis by activist investor David Webb.

Kingston plunged 17 percent on Jan. 30 after the Securities and Futures Commission said that 20 shareholders controlled more than 91 percent of the stock. It slid further in March after FTSE Russell purged Kingston from its benchmarks.

Hong Kong’s richest woman loses half of her worth as stock plunges

Kingston is Chu’s main holding, but her active role in Hong Kong’s market for small-cap stocks earned her the moniker “queen of shell companies” in the Hong Kong press. Part of Chu’s wealth stems from her father’s background managing VIP rooms in Macau. Gaming in the former Portuguese colony, which accounts for about 15 percent of Kingston’s revenue, generated HK$473.5 million last year, down 3.8 percent from fiscal 2017.

Chu, 59, joined a record $5.2 billion deal to buy most of a Hong Kong skyscraper from Li Ka-Shing’s CK Asset Holdings Ltd., in the most expensive real estate transaction ever. CK Asset confirmed in May that the deal was completed.

— With assistance by Tom Metcalf, Jack Witzig, and Sofia Horta e Costa

(Updates skyscraper deal in last paragraph.)

[GeneChing]

Pansy Ho is a great name. I'm not making fun of it - she's rich enough to own me. :o


Macau casino heiress Pansy Ho’s wild past firmly behind her as she presides over multibillion empire from The Peak (https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2157465/macau-casino-heiress-pansy-hos-wild-past-firmly-behind-her-she)
PUBLISHED : Monday, 30 July, 2018, 4:02pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 31 July, 2018, 11:23am
Ryan Swift

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/07/31/bae6bdac-93ad-11e8-acb0-2eccab85240c_1280x720_112343.JPG?itok=mJ-vaA_Q

Pansy Ho Chiu-king must be feeling confident these days.

Her main business, Shun Tak Holdings, posted a 66 per cent year on year increase in revenue to nearly HK$6.4 billion (US$815.4 million) and reversed a net loss of nearly HK$600 million in 2016 to net profit of HK$1.4 billion, thanks to property sales and an improving business environment in Macau. And her company is part of the consortium that has won exclusive rights to a bus service operating on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. And she has promoted herself from managing director to group executive chairman of Shun Tak Holdings.

And to put the cherry on top, Ho, with a net worth estimated at US$4.8 billion, just dropped US$114.6 million for a house on The Peak – one of the most prestigious districts in Hong Kong.

Macau casino heiress pays HK$900 million for Peak mansion in Asia’s second-costliest property
It’s a remarkable turn for a woman who, in the 1990s, was considered a party-going socialite rather than a businesswoman. She could be spotted on beaches in Thailand, most notoriously with her bad-boy lover Gilbert Yeung, or captured by the paparazzi at nightclubs in Hong Kong.

Nowadays, she is more likely to be seen at high-minded cultural events, or spending time secluded aboard her yacht in the Mediterranean.

Ho is one of 17 children by Stanley Ho, one of the world’s best-known casino moguls. Uniquely among Stanley Ho’s children, Pansy has publicly emerged as heir-apparent. She has shareholdings in SJM Holdings and MGM China.

She famously keeps a retinue with her, always looking after her personal affairs and jumping to her orders.

In a 2015 interview, Ho said that as a child, she wanted to be an anthropologist or archaeologist. Her mother dissuaded her by reminding her how afraid she was of dirty places. Ho went on to study art history and religious studies, and later considered becoming an art historian or curator. At her father’s urging, she studied business.

She also developed a pretty clear sense of what she liked and what she did not. In 1991, Ho married Julian Hui, the scion of a low-key property family and five years her junior. For the wedding, the couple apparently stipulated not just the crystal and silverware to bring as presents, but also the expected brand name for each item, according to an SCMP report.

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/07/31/8d80b9c0-93c2-11e8-acb0-2eccab85240c_1320x770_112343.JPG
Gilbert Yeung with whom Pansy Ho had an affair in the 1990s. Photo: SCMP

Ho’s business and personal life have always been intertwined. She first started work at Shun Tak, under her father, in 1994. In 1996, her father become a partner on a casino project in North Korea with Albert Yeung, chairman of Emperor Group. By the late 1990s, Ho and Gilbert Yeung, Albert’s hard-partying son, were an item. After a year and a half, it was broken off when Stanley Ho publicly declared that Pansy would lose her inheritance if she married Gilbert. The affair was widely thought to be the reason for her divorce from Hui in 2000.

In a 2009 interview, Ho described how as a child, she often accompanied her father on trips into the mountains to hunt partridges and wild ducks. “I was the brave one of the family who would go with him, and we would climb mountains and trek through the wilderness for hours together,” she said at the time. Despite this, she said she only ever referred to her father as “Dr Ho”.

In early 2011, Pansy was famously involved in a dispute with her father, who accused her, her siblings and his third wife Ina, of having tricked him out of almost all his assets. The feud put the Ho family into the spotlight like no other Asian dynasty. While staying tight-lipped about the affair, Pansy and her family came to a settlement on the distribution of the ageing tycoon’s assets and wealth, and the family has outwardly been at peace ever since.

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/07/31/cebcb4e8-93c2-11e8-acb0-2eccab85240c_1320x770_112343.JPG
The MGM Cotai hotel in Macau, which is the latest hotel in MGM China’s portfolio. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Appearances have always mattered to Pansy, who has seemingly mastered the art of public theatre, even having a brief turn as a TV actress in her youth. For a photo shoot in 2015, she came prepared with several outfits – flattering and youthful, but not fancy. During investigations before the Nevada Gaming Commission into her father’s ties to the criminal underworld, she could appear before the cameras looking like a Chinese middle class housewife. In the spring of 2018, newly slimmed down, she looked like a 21st century version of the Dowager Empress Cixi.

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/07/31/c1154c2e-93c2-11e8-acb0-2eccab85240c_1320x770_112343.JPG
Casino Grand Lisboa in Macau is part of SJM Holdings, in which Shun Tak has a stake. Photo: Dickson Lee

Certainly, building up a business based on Macau’s gaming attractions is not always smooth sailing. In 2012, along with China Eastern Airlines and Qantas Airways, Shun Tak invested in a proposed new budget airline, Jetstar Hong Kong. But its application for an operating licence was ultimately rejected by Hong Kong’s Air Transport Licensing Authority this year, on the basis that ownership and decision-making was not sufficiently Hong Kong-based, thanks in part to a challenge by Cathay Pacific.

But she has also shown persistence in building up her businesses, and shrewdness in negotiating her position within MGM China, while tightening her grip on Shun Tak over the years. Certainly, she will be engaging in many more negotiations on the distribution of the Ho family business interests in the years to come, but now she will be doing it with a rather spectacular view from The Peak as the backdrop to her lofty stage.

[GeneChing]

Chinese Billionaire Arrested in Minneapolis For Alleged Sexual Misconduct (http://time.com/5385284/chinese-billionaire-richard-liu-qiangdong-arrested/)

https://imagesvc.timeincapp.com/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftimedotcom.files.wordpress .com%2F2018%2F09%2Fap18245601218952.jpg&w=800&q=85
Chinese billionaire Liu Qiangdong, also known as Richard Liu, the founder of the Beijing-based e-commerce site JD.com, who was arrested in Minneapolis on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct, jail records show. Hennepin County Sheriff's Office/AP
By STEVE KARNOWSKI / AP September 3, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Chinese billionaire Liu Qiangdong, also known as Richard Liu, the founder of the Beijing-based e-commerce site JD.com, was arrested in Minneapolis on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct, jail records show.

Liu, 45, was arrested late Friday night and released Saturday afternoon pending possible criminal charges, Hennepin County Jail records show. The jail records don’t provide details of the alleged incident.

Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder said Sunday that he couldn’t provide any details because the investigation is considered active. He declined to say where in Minneapolis Liu was arrested or what Liu was accused of doing.

Minnesota law defines five degrees of criminal sexual misconduct, ranging from a gross misdemeanor to felonies, covering a broad array of conduct ranging from nonconsensual touching to violent assaults with injuries. The jail records for Liu don’t indicate a degree.

JD.com, the main rival to Alibaba Group, said in a statement posted Sunday on the Chinese social media site Weibo that Liu was falsely accused while in the U.S. on a business trip, but that police investigators found no misconduct and that he would continue his journey as planned.

“We will take the necessary legal action against false reporting or rumors,” the company said.

Liu recently tried to distance himself from a sexual assault allegations against a guest at a 2015 party at Liu’s penthouse in Australia. Liu was not charged or accused of wrongdoing, but Australian media reported he tried unsuccessfully to get a court to prevent the release of his name in that case. The guest was convicted.

In June, Google said it would invest $550 million in JD.com. The investment reflected an effort by the U.S. tech company to expand its reach into Asian e-commerce.

JD.com is China’s second-largest e-commerce company after Alibaba. Among its other investors is Chinese internet gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings, the developer of the WeChat messenger app and a major rival of Alibaba, and U.S. retailer Walmart Inc.

___

Associated Press reporters Gillian Wong in Beijing and Josh Boak in Baltimore contributed to this story.

The reports are saying rape now. :(

[GeneChing]

https://media.gq.com/photos/5b50a465e9157f25e7c78a32/master/w_800/The%20Great%20Chinese%20Art%20Heist-GQ-August-2018-04.jpg
Bartholomew Cooke

Those looking for China's lost art have plenty of targets. According to one widely cited government estimate, more than 10 million antiquities have disappeared from China since 1840. The works that mean the most to the Chinese are the ones that left during the so-called Century of Humiliation, from 1840 to 1949, when China was repeatedly carved up by foreign powers. The modern Communist Party has declared its intent to bring China back from that period of prolonged decline, and the return of looted objects serves as undeniable proof—tangible, visible, and beautiful proof—of the country's revival.

By far the most important pieces are those that were hauled away by British and French troops in 1860 after the sacking of the Old Summer Palace. In China today, it's difficult to overstate the indignity still associated with the looting of the palace, which had served as a residence to the last Chinese dynasty. Its gardens, art, and architecture were said to be among the most beautiful in the world. The palace held an array of wonders, not the least of which was a fountain adorned with 12 bronze heads representing the animals of the Chinese zodiac.


“The government in China doesn't think they're stolen objects. They think they belong to them."

When European troops reached the garden, the desecration of the palace became a mad frenzy. Soldiers stripped it of everything they could carry. The zodiac heads were wrenched from their bases and hauled away as trophies. When the soldiers had removed all they could, they torched what remained—retribution, they said, for the torture and murder of British envoys who'd attempted to negotiate with the Chinese. The grounds of the palace were so large and so intricate that the 4,500 troops needed three days to burn everything.

Most of the plunder was taken back to Europe and either tucked away in private collections or presented as gifts to royal families. Queen Victoria of Britain was given a pet Pekingese dog, the first of its kind ever seen in Europe. Unabashed by its provenance, she named it Looty.

In China, the memory of the Old Summer Palace's destruction remains vivid—and intentionally so. The site has been kept as ruins, the better to “stir feelings of national humiliation and patriotism,” as one Chinese academic put it. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before those feelings transformed into action.


https://media.gq.com/photos/5b7453be347969312724e226/master/w_800/the-great-chinese-art-heist-gq-4.jpg
The porcelain "chicken cup" that sold for $36 million in 2014 Aarom Tam/Getty Images

Of course, not all of the art that's finding its way home to China is being snatched off museum walls in the dead of night or wrangled back by aggressive bureaucrats. The country's new elite are helping, too.

“The Chinese don't need a coordinating campaign,” says James Ratcliffe, the director of recoveries and general counsel at the Art Loss Register. “There are enough Chinese collectors with a huge amount of money who want the pride of acquiring this art.”

In 2016, for the first time, China had more billionaires than the United States. Many of the country's nouveau riche have taken to art collecting with a giddy enthusiasm. In 2000, China represented 1 percent of the global-art-auction market; by 2014, it accounted for 27 percent. The market for historical Chinese art is so frenzied that even seemingly mundane pieces of Chinese art can electrify the scene at auction houses.

In 2010, a 16-inch Chinese vase went up for sale at an auction house in an unremarkable suburb of London. The starting price was $800,000. Half an hour later, the final bid—reportedly from an anonymous buyer from mainland China—was $69.5 million. Though the provenance of this vase was mysterious, similar objects with traceable histories of looting have proved valuable. “Buying looted artwork has become high-street fashion among China's elite,” Zhao Xu, the director of Beijing Poly Auction, told China Daily.

Their desires adhere to a nationalistic logic: The closer an object's connection to China's ignominious defeats, the more significant its return. In recent years, vases, bronzeware, and a host of other items from the Old Summer Palace have all sold for millions. Behind these purchases is almost always a well-connected Chinese billionaire eager to demonstrate China's modern resurgence on the world stage.

In 2014, a taxi driver turned billionaire named Liu Yiqian paid $36 million for a small porcelain “chicken cup,” coveted because it was once a part of the imperial collection. (According to the Wall Street Journal, he completed his purchase by swiping his Amex card 24 times and promptly stoked controversy by drinking from the dish.) A few months later, he paid an additional $45 million for a Tibetan silk tapestry from the Ming era. “When we are young, we are indoctrinated to believe that the foreigners stole from us,” Liu once told The New Yorker. “But maybe it's out of context. Whatever of ours [the foreigners] stole, we can always snatch it back one day.” (Liu Yiqian did not respond to requests for comment.)

https://media.gq.com/photos/5b744afc46bf753bc7d911aa/master/w_800/the-great-chinese-art-heist-gq-2.jpg
Chinese billionaire Huang Nubo Nicolas Asfouri/Getty Images

Huang Nubo has a similarly patriotic interest in China's art. Tall and broad-shouldered, with a ruddy complexion and close-set eyes, he's the kind of billionaire who makes other billionaires jealous: He's an accomplished adventurer, one of the few people alive to have visited both the North and South Poles and summited the world's seven tallest peaks (he's topped Everest three times). When I met him at his office in Beijing, he had just returned from an expedition in western China, where he'd reached the top of the world's sixth-tallest mountain.

Huang made his money by building one of the country's most powerful real estate conglomerates, a task he undertook after spending ten years as an official in the publicity department of the Communist Party. His passion for Chinese culture has helped make him famous, and through an effort called the National Treasures Coming Home campaign, he's focusing on the reclamation of lost relics.

After the second break-in at the KODE, Huang contacted the museum. He wanted to fly to Bergen and tour the closed China exhibit. Once there, he was shown a collection of marble columns taken from the Old Summer Palace. Huang began to weep and told the museum director that the columns had no business being displayed in Norway. He donated $1.6 million to KODE, which he says was to upgrade its security. (A spokesman for KODE said the agreement did not concern security.) Soon thereafter the museum shipped seven of the marble columns back to China to be displayed at Peking University on permanent loan. (Huang denies any connection between his donation and the return of the columns.) The looting of the columns and their open display in a European museum “were our disgrace,” he told China Daily, and their return represented “dignity returned to the Chinese people.”

In addition to visiting the KODE, Huang had toured the Château de Fontainebleau, not long before it was robbed. I asked him what he had heard about the theft and the rumor that the stolen relics had made their way back to China. He tightened his face into a small smile and laughed. “I only heard about it,” he said. “[That they might go back to China] is a good suggestion, in terms of result, but it encourages more stealing. I think it's because Chinese relics have good prices on the market nowadays.”


Huang Nubo is the man. Why are some Chinese billionaires so cool? Copying this portion of the GQ article on I posted on Chinese antiques (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70813-Chinese-antiques&p=1310416#post1310416) to Chinese Tycoons, CEOs & Tuhao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao).

continued next post

[GeneChing]

There's a vid



Hong Kong Billionaire Offers ‘Nobel Prizes’ With Double the Money (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-26/hong-kong-casino-tycoon-gives-nobel-prizes-at-double-the-money?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews)
By Blake Schmidt
September 26, 2018, 2:00 PM PDT
Billionaire Lui Che Woo seeks to promote ‘world civilization’
Winners for positive energy, sustainability get $2.6 million

After amassing a $15 billion fortune from casinos, Lui Che Woo wants to turn vice into virtue.

While Elon Musk is trying to get humans to Mars and Li Ka-shing joined Bill Gates to battle infant malnutrition, Lui, who rose from a rugged childhood in Japan-occupied Hong Kong, has stepped into the shoes of Alfred Nobel.

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iEw1zvQDML.4/v0/800x-1.jpg
Lui Che WooPhotographer: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg

The gambling tycoon’s version of giving back involves awarding prizes that include a dinner-plate-sized trophy depicting Lui in his signature flat cap, together with a cash payout of HK$20 million ($2.56 million) -- double the amount of a Nobel Prize.

Winners also get a dinner-plate-sized trophy showing the “amiable and kind smiling face of Dr. Lui,” according to an effusive description on the prize’s website, “as if sowing a seed of benevolence in the world.”

The benevolence extends to three categories: sustainability, welfare development and positive energy, to be chosen via a three-tier structure that involves a recommendation committee, selection panels and the prize council. The latter consists of “five international personages,” including Lui, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a former Archbishop of Canterbury and the former Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iz4aU3KysKjY/v0/-1x-1.jpg
Condoleezza Rice at the launch ceremony for the Lui Che Woo prize in 2015.Photographer: Xaume Olleros/Bloomberg

“Positive energy represents people trying to understand and help each other,” Lui said in an interview at his office in Hong Kong’s North Point, surrounded by his antique Chinese pottery collection.

This year’s winners, who will be honored at a ceremony on Oct. 3, are renewable energy advocate Hans-Josef Fell, a former parliament member for Germany’s Green Party; the World Meteorological Organization; and India’s Pratham Education Foundation.

Nobel Alternative

Lui’s prize, now in its third year, has gained attention as the Nobel committee comes under scrutiny for a #metoo moment, after a scandal at the Swedish Academy prompted the committee to defer awarding the literary prize this year. The Nobel committee said the current prize fund is 9 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). Lui says he isn’t trying to replace the 123-year-old awards but to offer an alternative.

It’s not the first alternative originating in China. After the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to jailed Chinese dissident author Liu Xiaobo, Beijing reacted furiously, breaking diplomatic ties with Norway and embarking on a six-year freeze that sent Norwegian salmon exports to China plunging. The writer withered away in captivity before his death in 2017.

The month after Xiaobo won the award, a group in Beijing created a rival award, called the Confucius Peace Prize, which stumbled out of the gate. The Taiwanese winner of the prize didn’t show up to accept it, and after China’s Ministry of Culture tried to shut the award down, some of the organizers reassembled in Hong Kong.

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/i_0GWEdd2idM/v0/-1x-1.jpg
The Confucius Peace Award committee in 2010.Photographer: Alexander F. Yuan/AP Photo

Past winners of that award include Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Cambodia’s Hun Sen and Cuba’s Fidel Castro (who also boasted an Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights, named for the toppled Libyan leader).

Lui said his philanthropic vein stems from his childhood, when he was denied a formal education during the Japanese invasion. He’s a big donor to Peking University, where he’s an honorary trustee after pledging $18 million. Macau has been less lucky with charitable donations, as the top six casino operators donated less than 0.1 percent of their revenue, according to a recent report by Macau University of Science and Technology.

Gaming Magnate

Born in Guangdong province, Lui’s family fled to Hong Kong when he was 4. He became a breadwinner for his five younger sisters and made his first fortune by buying WWII-era U.S. military equipment in Okinawa and reselling it in Hong Kong. In 1955 he founded K. Wah Group, quarrying construction materials. He then moved into real estate and in 2002 started Galaxy Entertainment, which won one of six gaming concessions in Macau and is now valued at $29 billion. Galaxy, which bought shares in Wynn Resorts after Steve Wynn stepped down as chairman, is the biggest casino operator in Macau.

Lui’s prize “is not serving any political function," the tycoon said. “If it gets involved with politics, it will become complicated.” He declined to comment on the case of Liu Xiaobo.

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/ifOgFz3NEy8Y/v0/800x-1.jpg
Lui Che Woo launches his Prize for World Civilization in 2015.Photographer: Xaume Olleros/Bloomberg

Like Nobel, an arms dealer and the inventor of dynamite, Lui is using profits from his “vice” business -- in his case gambling -- to help fund the awards. He said his prize is designed to promote respect for others, mutual understanding, love of family and standing up for those who are weaker. Nobel, who established his foundation after a premature obituary in a French newspaper called him “the merchant of death,” included a prize for furthering the cause of international fraternity and peace.

“To some extent, it is a bit similar to the Nobel Peace Prize but the concept of our prize is broader,” Lui said.

— With assistance by Daniela Wei

[GeneChing]

I've just created a new thread dedicated to Vicky Zhao Wei (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71084-Vicky-Zhao-Wei) by poaching the posts above from the Tiger Mothers and FOB Moms (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?59579-Tiger-Mothers-and-FOB-Moms) thread. There are surely other mentions of her on this forum, but I'm not going to link those up right now. I'm also copying this to the Chinese Tycoons, CEOs & Tuhao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao) thread.

Man, China is going after its starlets. First Fan Bingbing (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70896-Where-in-the-world-is-Fan-Bingbing), now Vicky.


NOVEMBER 20, 2018 / 6:47 AM / UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO
China bars actress Zhao Wei from holding key positions in companies for five years
3 MIN READ

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Billionaire Chinese actress Zhao Wei and her husband have been barred from taking on key positions at listed companies for five years for violating securities regulations, the Shanghai Stock Exchange said on Tuesday.

http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20181120&t=2&i=1327054301&r=LYNXNPEEAJ120&w=1200
Actress Zhao Wei, member of Venezia 73 International Jury, poses for photographers during a photocall at the 73rd Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

The exchange’s announcement comes more than a month after another Chinese actress Fan Bingbing came under fire for failing to pay millions of dollars in taxes and fines.

On Tuesday, the exchange said Zhao and her husband Huang Youlong, as well as several other former executives of Tibet Longwei Culture Media and Zhejiang Sunriver Culture Co Ltd, were unfit to be directors, supervisors and senior executives of listed companies.

They will not be allowed to assume these positions for five years, the exchange said.

Zhejiang Sunriver, Tibet Longwei, Zhao and Huang were all not immediately available for comment.

In late 2016, Tibet Longwei, controlled by Zhao and Huang, made a failed attempt to buy a 29.1 percent stake in Zhejiang Wanjia, which was later taken over by another investor and renamed Zhejiang Sunriver Culture.

Longwei’s bid had then drawn the scrutiny of the China Securities Regulatory Commission regarding information disclosure and its ability in financing takeovers as there were misleading statements and major omissions in the filings.

U.S.-China rift divides Asian summit
In November 2017, China’s securities regulator fined and barred Zhao, who became a household name in China for starring in popular TV dramas, and Huang from trading in the mainland stock market for five years due to the takeover case.

“Due to the celebrity effect, Tibet Longwei has severely misled the market and its investors. This has seriously disrupted normal market operations and order,” the exchange said on Tuesday.

Zhao and Fan’s cases have prompted the Chinese government to crack down on celebrity hype.

In November, state media quoted the National Radio and Television Administration as saying that Chinese broadcasters and online entertainment sites should avoid celebrity hype and crack down on fake audience and click-through rates.

Reporting by Twinnie Siu in Hong Kong and Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore; editing by Louise Heavens

[GeneChing]

Huawei founder’s debutante daughter Annabel Yao: ‘I still consider myself a normal girl’ (https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/2176294/huawei-founders-debutante-daughter-annabel-yao-i-still?utm_medium=social&utm_source=fb&utm_campaign=GME-I-retarget-us-scmp-fb-uv-economy_loyal_1_off_society&fbclid=IwAR2_N_h_gTwQjukL8w67aBs-HchTHMPS7SUZPA1gzLbsDt9pJyUgijHI-14#)
Yao, chosen to perform the opening waltz at Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris, was one of 19 young women to make their society debut this year
Harvard computer science student and ballerina says, ‘As much as I enjoy coding … I have a passion for fashion, PR and entertainment’
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 05 December, 2018, 8:47am
UPDATED : Thursday, 06 December, 2018, 7:06pm
Jing Zhang
http://twitter.com/jingerzhanger
jing.zhang@scmp.com

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/12/06/6fd6b0fa-f6c3-11e8-93b8-bdc844c69537_1280x720_101933.jpg?itok=qYGKgnnn

While Le Bal des Debutantes in Paris each year is a nod to the tradition of young society ladies entering the elite social scene of Europe, these days it courts modern debutantes, aged 16 to 21, who are chosen for their looks, brains and famous parents – prominent in business, entertainment and politics.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/12/06/e789ad66-f6ad-11e8-93b8-bdc844c69537_1320x770_101933.JPG
Annabel Yao danced with European royalty at Le Bal des Debutantes in Paris last month.

The schedule at the event, organised by Ophélie Renouard, is full of young women such as Baroness Ludmilla von Oppenheim, from Germany; Julia McCaw, daughter of AT&T founder Craig McCaw; and Annabel Yao, daughter of Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei – the latter of whom was one of three debutantes chosen for the opening waltz this year.

“I definitely treated this as a debut to the world,” says Yao when we speak just after the ball. “From now on, I’ll no longer be this girl living in her own world, I’ll be stepping into the adult world where I have to watch my own actions and have my actions be watched by others.”

Today’s Le Bal, or Crillon Ball, is a diverse affair, a microcosm of the shifting tides of the global elite. Of the 19 debutantes of 2018, there were young ladies from India and America, Europeans from Portugal, France, Belgium and Germany, as well as Hong Kong’s Angel Lee, Kayla Uytengsu from the Philippines and China’s Yao.

Yao – a 21-year-old Harvard computer science student and ballerina who has lived in Britain, Hong Kong and Shanghai – is one of several Chinese debutantes in recent years. Hollywood offspring, such as the daughters of actors Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone, have also become Le Bal regulars.

“All the girls were down-to-earth, easygoing, helpful and outgoing. No one was pretentious,” says Yao. “All of them attended top universities or high schools like Stanford, Brown and Columbia, so it’s a group of girls who are privileged, but also work really hard.”

As they swap their jeans for tiaras and couture gowns and trade teenage antics for waltzing, the girls get to play fairytale princesses for three days and make their grand debut in high society.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/12/06/f21f38ae-f6ad-11e8-93b8-bdc844c69537_972x_101933.JPG
Annabel Yao, daughter of the founder of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, and Yao Ling

They all arrive in Paris two days before the ball to meet, socialise with other girls and their cavaliers (Yao’s cavalier was the young Count Gaspard de Limburg-Stirum), rehearse and take part in portrait sessions.

Girls are given questionnaires about the fashion styles they like, and then choose from a selection. Yao donned a champagne gold J Mendel gown.

“An American designer with a very French style … I wanted something modern,” she says. “I’m not super girlie inside, so I prefer something more chic and not so princessy … It’s very elegant, and I’m not a fan of very [strongly] pigmented hues. I also loved the tulle texture of the dress, as it reminds me of a ballerina.”

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/12/06/fe0f40c8-f6ad-11e8-93b8-bdc844c69537_972x_101933.JPG
Annabel Yao wore a J Mendel gown at the ball

“I definitely feel very honoured to be included, as there are only 19 girls in the world this year,” Yao says. “It means I have to work harder, try to accomplish great things in my life and be a role model for other girls.”

She adds: “As people who have more privilege than others, it’s more important for us to help those with less opportunity. I want to get involved in philanthropy and charity … I still consider myself a normal girl; it’s important for me to work hard and better myself every day.

“My daily life is actually pretty boring compared to this. I usually live like a normal student.”

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/12/06/1796a41e-f6ae-11e8-93b8-bdc844c69537_972x_101933.jpg
Annabel Yao at the ball in Paris. “My daily life is actually pretty boring compared to this,” she says.

Computer science is a heavy subject with a high workload, so she studies a lot. Her spare time is often taken up at the Harvard Ballet company (she’s been dancing since childhood). “I try to dance as much as possible,” she says.

A quick glance at the Ivy League student’s social media shows her jetting around the world wearing Dior, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent, but she’s quick to show her serious side. This summer, she did an internship at Microsoft “on a team focusing on machine learning and image recognition”.

However, she adds: “As much as I enjoy coding, I enjoy personal interactions a lot … I have a passion for fashion, PR and entertainment.”

In the future, she sees herself working on the business side of technology. “I’ll try to integrate the tech knowledge I have,” she says. “I don’t think I’ll be a software engineer but maybe I’ll be more on the management side. I enjoy building connections.”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Huawei founder’s daughter a belle of the debutante ball


Annabel looks disturbingly like one of my shimei.

[GeneChing]

Huang Xiangmo: China billionaire mocks 'giant baby' Australia (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-47208915)
5 hours ago

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/3CFB/production/_105611651_gettyimages-113172073.jpg
AFP/GETTY
There are growing worries in Australia about Chinese influence

A Chinese billionaire and political donor has dubbed Australia a "giant baby" after he lost residency rights.

It is an "objective fact" that the country has a baby's "innate characteristics", Huang Xiangmo told state tabloid Global Times.

The property developer has lived in Sydney since 2011 and has donated millions to major political parties.

But he was stranded overseas when the government rejected his citizenship bid and cancelled his permanent residency.

The Sydney Morning Herald first reported the visa denial earlier this month, describing Mr Huang as "Beijing's former top lobbyist in Australia".

He reportedly has links with the Chinese Communist Party, and Australia's national security agency has warned politicians not to accept money from him.

It comes amid a row over Chinese influence in Australia which has strained relations between the two nations.

What did Mr Huang say?
Mr Huang attacked his adopted country in his interview with the Global Times, a newspaper known for its strident, nationalist tone.


Global Times
Verified account (https://twitter.com/globaltimesnews/status/1094989504082046978)
@globaltimesnews
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DzIvJq5X4AEM4vb.jpg
More
#Australia has “characteristics of a giant baby:” tycoon Huang Xiangmo http://bit.ly/2I8QIB5

8:00 AM - 11 Feb 2019

Asked what he thought was behind the tense relations in recent years, the billionaire said: "The history of Australia has determined the innate characteristics of a giant baby."

"This is an objective fact and it does not mean Australia has to feel inferior," he said. "The growth of a giant baby takes time, and Australia still has a long way to go."

Mr Huang said he moved to the country for its "beautiful scenery and simple folk customs" and accused some Australian media outlets of smearing him.

Who is Mr Huang?

The billionaire has reportedly donated about A$2.7 million ($1.91m; £1.49m) to both major parties.

Mr Huang said these donations came from his desire to "promote Chinese people's legal involvement in politics".

He was linked with Sam Dastyari, a Labor party politician who announced his resignation in 2017 after making pro-Beijing remarks over the South China Sea dispute.

Mr Dastyari reportedly told Mr Huang he may be under surveillance - something the senator denies.

Why are relations strained between China and Australia?

Australia has been increasingly vocal about what it sees as growing Chinese influence in recent years.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull urged a crackdown on "covert, coercive" activities by foreign governments in 2017, noting "disturbing reports" of Chinese influence while stressing the rules were not targeted at any one country.

That same year Chinese students complained about teaching materials at Australian universities - drawing fears that China was exerting pressure on campuses.

Last November, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a new multi-billion dollar fund for Pacific island nations, seemingly to counter Chinese influence in the area.

"Australia cannot take its influence in the south-west Pacific for granted," he said, calling the region "our patch".

Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi stressed the two nations should work together in the ocean.

Since 2011 Beijing has become the second-largest donor of foreign aid to Pacific islands after Australia.

I imagine this connects to Shaolin Temple OZ (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64712-Shaolin-Temple-OZ)

[GeneChing]

...this is where.


Marisa Fernandez Feb 27
China had the most billionaires in 2018 (https://www.axios.com/billionaires-china-economy-united-states-df3fa387-07da-41af-b9e1-4e2f07da11e8.html)

https://images.axios.com/m8S031rWYLgxbdnsGqBgRKSVPfs=/0x188:5760x3428/1920x1080/2019/02/27/1551266589981.jpg
Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma is the world’s 22nd richest person with $39 billion. Photo: Sun Qing/VCG via Getty Images

Beijing was the city with the most billionaires in 2018, at 103, followed by New York at 92 and Hong Kong with 69, according to wealth compiler Hurun Report, China's version of the Forbes rich list.

By the numbers: China had 658 billionaires; the U.S. had 584; the world had 2,470, per the AP. The bulk of the wealth last year poured in from the technology, media and telecom sectors. Despite China's overall strength in numbers, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates — both Americans — held the top two spots in the list.

[GeneChing]

A New Generation of Philanthropy in China (https://www.barrons.com/articles/a-new-generation-of-philanthropy-in-china-51553616001?mod=hp_LATEST)
March 26, 2019 12:00 p.m. ET

https://images.barrons.com/im-58680?width=1260&aspect_ratio=1.5
From left: Lawrence Chan, Niu Gensheng, Dee Dee Chan, Jet Li, Jack Ma, Li Ka-shing. ILLUSTRATION BY GLUEKIT; SOURCE IMAGES: GETTY IMAGES AND BLOOMBERG

In Hong Kong, home to some of the richest people in the world, philanthropist Dee Dee Chan is making sure her generation learns how to give back.

In 2014, Chan, who is in her 30s, started a group for her peers—young people from families with at least US$500 million in assets who play an active role in their families’ businesses—to learn about philanthropy and to put it into practice. The hope is to “raise the ‘future generals’ who will make a huge impact on society through their own charitable efforts,” she says.

Chan is the granddaughter of billionaire Chan Chak Fu, who ran a global hotel and real estate business. Today, she’s managing director at Park Lane Capital Holdings, formed in 2007 from the fortune made by her father, Lawrence Chan, who developed and operated hotels and real estate projects.

She’s also director of the Seal of Love Charitable Foundation, a foundation started by her father in 2010, which donated 80 million Hong Kong dollars (US$10.2 million) in 2017 to the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to support an industry that has become a growing employment sector for the underprivileged in Southeast Asia.

The six or seven core members in each of the two chapters of Chan’s Next Generational Organization (NGO, for short) contribute to a collective pot that they allocate as a group, traveling twice a year for field visits to grassroots nonprofits in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. “The point is really to make mistakes early together and also have a forum in which we can actually do this together,” Chan says.

Lawrence Chan, 65, says his daughter’s NGO chapters will redefine philanthropy, as his generation—including Hong Kong’s wealthiest man and philanthropist, Li Ka-shing—is “starting to fade away.”


“ The point is to have a forum in which we can actually do this together. ”

—Dee Dee Chan
Great fortunes have been made in Asia in the past decade. But as the region’s riches have swelled, and as a younger generation emerges, China’s wealthy are increasingly seeking to maintain their family legacies and to give back. Groups have formed to encourage collaboration and education, including the China Global Philanthropy Institute, founded by three Chinese philanthropists—Niu Gensheng, He Qiaonyu, and Ye Qingjun—along with U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and Ray Dalio. Jack Ma, through the Alibaba Foundation, meanwhile, has sponsored the biannual Xin Philanthropy Conference since 2016.

Ma represents a newer, more visible wave of philanthropists who are trained abroad, globally engaged, and in touch with the concepts of philanthropy, says Anthony Saich, director of the Ash Center at Harvard, which runs the China Philanthropy Project. But there are a rising number of individual philanthropists within China who are having a profound influence, notably Niu Gensheng, a billionaire born to extreme poverty who made a fortune as the founder of China Mengniu Dairyin Inner Mongolia. Niu, 61, began the Lao Niu Foundation in 2004 to support the environment, cultural education, and development of the philanthropic sector.

One strategy that the Lao Niu Foundation is using to boost philanthropy is to train nonprofit professionals, “so that they’re regarded as professionals, just as public officials and private-sector individuals are,” says Melissa Berman, president of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which is aiding the foundation.

The One Foundation, founded by Chinese actor Jet Li, is also helping to strengthen nonprofits by being transparent about what they fund, and which outcomes they achieve, Berman says.

While Niu and others have turned to the West for inspiration and practical advice, Rob Rosen, a director at the Gates Foundation, expects philanthropy in China to remain uniquely Chinese.

China’s philanthropists will want to know whether their funds are “being directed toward important issues in a deeply thoughtful way, and if they are taking an appropriate level of risk to really lead to bold change,” Rosen says. “They’re definitely on the pathway there.”


THREADS
Jet Li’s ONE Foundation (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?36920-Jet-Li%92s-ONE-Foundation)
Jack Ma & Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba)
Chinese Tycoons, CEOs & Tuhao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao)

[GeneChing]

Hong Kong Property Tycoon Gave Away Children’s $400m Inheritance (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-22/hong-kong-property-scion-has-no-house-no-inheritance)
By Shawna Kwan and Venus Feng
April 22, 2019, 2:00 PM PDT
Alex Shih’s dad gave $400 million Centaline stake to charity
Like many other Hong Kongers, Shih is saving for first house

The heir to the biggest real estate agency in property-mad Hong Kong doesn’t own a house.

Not only that, he won’t inherit his father’s stake in Centaline Group, estimated to be worth about $400 million according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, because it was donated to charity more than a decade ago.

But Alex Shih isn’t perturbed, even though he’s missing out on the wealth that the offspring of some Hong Kong tycoons are taking control of along with the family business. Li Ka-shing, the city’s richest man, last year handed the reins to son Victor, while billionaire Lee Shau Kee last month said he was considering retiring from Henderson Land Development Co. and putting his two sons in charge.

“I personally accept it,’’ the 30-year-old Shih said of his father’s decision not to pass on the family fortune to his three children. “He told us when we were very young and we didn’t have a choice. He would say that it’s better not to lead a life that’s too comfortable in one go. You’ll treasure more if you gain things step by step.”

Shih took over running Centaline, which handles two out of every five property transactions in Hong Kong, at the start of this year when he was named vice-chairman. He is set to become chairman when his 70-year-old father Wing-Ching Shih retires, which he expects to happen sometime soon.

He ascended to the top job after a difficult year for Centaline, which was founded in 1978. Commission revenue rose a bare 1 percent to about HK$19 billion ($2.4 billion) last year, and net income slumped 52 percent to HK$501 million, as a downturn in Hong Kong’s property market and growing competition in mainland China took its toll.

Hong Kong’s property market has since rebounded, and Shih is looking to modernize the agency. He oversaw the introduction of virtual-reality house viewing in 2017, and more recently a blockchain platform to streamline sales and rental agreements.

“The company is like a big ship,” Shih said. “I am trying to provide new technology tools to make it move faster.”

While the firm handles millions of dollars of transactions a day, the softly-spoken Shih says he earns only a regular salary. The foundation that his father donated the Centaline stake to aims to alleviate poverty in rural China, from building infrastructure to supporting under-privileged children’s education.

“My friends who are working in finance are making more money than I do,” he said.

A graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Shih said he considers himself an average Hong Kong citizen. His office is small and sparsely decorated, and he enjoys hiking and playing badminton -- hardly the pursuits of the billionaire set.

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iFItiSdNPmkg/v1/800x-1.jpg
Shih in his office.Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg

His modest upbringing has also helped keep him humble -- his father eschewed the elite international schools favored by Hong Kong’s wealthy and enrolled his children in local government-subsidized schools, and instilled his philosophy that money should be used to help the less fortunate from an early age.

He even worked as a real estate agent when he first joined the family business. “It was quite tough -- staying outdoors to compete with other agents for limited customers, rain or shine.”

And, like many other millennials in a city ranked the world’s least-affordable for the past nine years, he’s still saving for his first house.

Shih’s advice to his peers? Be realistic.

He aims to buy a two-bedroom apartment in a middle-class neighborhood in West Kowloon -- or the slightly more upmarket Ho Man Tin area if his parents chip in, citing those areas good public transport links and potential for price growth as draw cards -- a far cry from the multi-million dollar mansions his agency sells.

“The first home may not be the one you want the most. But at least you get on the property ladder and then you slowly climb up.”

I'd be like "**** dad. that's cold." :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

Chinese tycoon’s son whines about Canadian taxes after buying $3.8 million supercar with daddy’s money (https://shanghai.ist/2019/04/18/chinese-tycoons-son-whines-about-canadian-taxes-after-buying-3-8-million-supercar-with-daddys-money/)
Taxes made up about $680,000 of that total
by Alex Linder April 18, 2019 in News

https://i2.wp.com/shanghai.ist/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ding-chen.jpg?w=1001&ssl=1

Move over, Wang Sicong. There’s a new most infamous fuerdai on the block and his name is Ding Chen.

Chen made headlines in Canada last week after complaining about the massive tax bill on his custom Bugatti supercar, bought through his daddy’s credit card at a Vancouver dealership. According to an invoice posted to Instagram by Chen, the purchase incurred C$210,404 ($157,000) in federal goods and service tax along with $C697,939 ($522,000) in provincial taxes for a total of C$908,343 ($680,000) in taxes.

With a pre-tax sales price of C$4.2 million ($US3.1 million) that leaves Chen’s father footing a bill of upwards of C$5.1 million ($US3.8 million) for the Bugatti Chiron. “These taxes… my heart feels tired,” Chen wrote over the image of the invoice. Last year, British Columbia increased taxes on cars worth more than C$150,000 to 20 percent.

https://i1.wp.com/shanghai.ist/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ding-chen2.jpg?w=415&ssl=1

Fortunately for Chen, it seems like his dad should be able to afford to splurge a bit. Starting out as a duck farmer, Chen Mailin is the owner of a Chinese investment firm. In 2015, he gained attention for purchasing one of Vancouver’s most lavish mansions for C$51.8 million ($40 million).

Judging from his Instagram account, the younger Chen had been putting his father’s money to good use in Canada, posting pics of luxury watches, fancy cars and a private jet with his name on the tail.

https://i2.wp.com/shanghai.ist/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ding-chen3.jpg?w=800&ssl=1

Unfortunately, Chen’s Instagram account has since been deleted, so we will no longer be able to stay updated on the progress of his Bugatti.

[Images via SCMP]

fuerdi = 富二代 'rich 2nd gen'

[GeneChing]

Wang Jun, the ‘princeling’ who chaired one of the world’s biggest asset-owning conglomerates at Citic Group, dies at the age of 78 (https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3013967/wang-jun-who-chaired-one-worlds-biggest-asset-owning-state)
Wang Jun, former chairman of Citic Group and the Poly Group, has died at the age of 78, according to Chinese state media
Wang was the son of Wang Zhen, one of the Eight Elders of the Chinese Communist Party and a founding elder of the modern People’s Republic
Daniel Ren
Published: 11:52am, 11 Jun, 2019

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/methode/2019/06/11/5a9a11b4-8c00-11e9-b2aa-5ba392ab87ab_image_hires_183440.jpg?itok=wExLzixt&v=1560249286
An undated photograph of Wang Jun. Photo: Baidu

Wang Jun, the son of one of communist China’s founding elders and a former chairman of the country’s largest state conglomerate, died on Monday, aged 78.
Wang died at 10.56pm on June 10, according to a report by state-owned news outlet Thepaper.cn in Shanghai, citing unidentified sources and without elaborating. Xinhua News Agency, the government’s mouthpiece, has yet to report the news.
Wang, who carried the rank of a full government minister, was chairman of China International Trust and Investment Corporation, better known as Citic, between 1995 and 2006.
With 375 billion yuan (US$54 billion) in 2013 revenue, the Beijing-based state investment vehicle was China’s largest company and one of the biggest owners of foreign assets in the world, operating a range of businesses from banking and finance to real estate and heavy industries. The company has yet to issue a statement.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/06/11/00b15446-8bfb-11e9-b2aa-5ba392ab87ab_972x_183440.jpg
Wang Jun, president of China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) and Poly Technologies, during a press conference in Beijing in 1995. Photo: AFP

The company was founded in 1979 as a vehicle for the Chinese government to raise capital when it embarked on capitalist market reforms in the late 1970s. Citic’s founder Rong Yiren – dubbed the Red Capitalist – was China’s vice-president from 1993 until 1998.
Wang was born in Hunan province in 1941, while his father Wang Zhen was a brigade commander in one of the most celebrated commune farms operated by the then communist guerillas. After the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, the senior Wang was hailed as one of the Eight Elders of the Communist Party, and rose to the rank of the nation’s vice-president, between 1988 and 1993.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/06/11/7bdaf524-8bff-11e9-b2aa-5ba392ab87ab_972x_183440.JPG
Wang Jun (left) and Larry Yung Chi-Kin (right), the son of Citic’s founder Rong Yiren during a signing ceremony in Hainan on 16 November 2004. Yung was the wealthiest Chinese businessman of mainland China with an estimated wealth of US$2.9 billion in 2013, according to Hurun Report. Photo: SCMP

The son of the late vice-president worked as a shipyard engineer at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard in 1996 after graduating from Harbin Military Engineering Institute. He served for two years with the People’s Liberation Army’s naval forces between 1977 and 1978, before joining the nascent Citic as a department chief.
Wang was promoted to Citic’s president in 1993 and was elevated into the top position of the conglomerate three years later as chairman of the board. At that time before China’s membership in the World Trade Organisation and before hundreds of Chinese companies raised capital through global stock market listings, Citic was the largest single Chinese conglomerate. It answered directly to China’s State Council, as the government cabinet was called.
During his lifetime, Wang also chaired the board of Poly Group, a state conglomerate with businesses that stretch from antiquities to real estate and military supplies and armaments.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/06/11/5ad4df88-8c00-11e9-b2aa-5ba392ab87ab_972x_183440.jpg
An undated photo of Wang Jun at the Great Hall of the People near Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Wang was appointed between 2003 and 2008 as a delegate to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory body that meets every year in the Chinese capital. Photo: Sina

Citic Pacific, the international arm of the group, was at the centre of a financial scandal in 2008 when it had to write off HK$14.7 billion (US$1.88 billion) in losses due to wrong-way bets in the currency market. The loss forced Larry Yung Chi-kin – the son of Citic’s founder and then one of China’s wealthiest men – to step down in 2009 as the Hong Kong-listed company’s executive chairman. Yung is also known in mainland China as Rong Zhijian.
By the time the scandal broke, Wang had already reached his retirement age of 65, and had stepped down to make way for Kong Dan to take over the helm of the group.
A chain smoker, Wang loved golf, and was the honorary vice-chairman of the China Golf Association, a curious title in a country where the elitist sport coexists uneasily with the proletarian ethos of the ruling Communist Party.
Under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption and rid the Communist Party of ostentatious consumption, golfing was frowned upon, and club memberships for high-ranking government officials became an automatic flag for investigation.
Wang was a princeling, as the children of China’s Communist Party leaders are known, and he was a senior among equals in the tight-knit community. Other prominent princelings include Bo Xilai, the former Chongqing commissar now serving a life term in jail for corruption, who was the son of Bo Yibo, one of the Eight Elders; and China’s president Xi, the son of the late Xi Zhongxun, who was a vice-chairman of China’s legislature.
Wang is survived by his wife Ye Xiaoying, the youngest daughter of the late Marshal Ye Jianying, one of the country’s founding leaders. The couple has two sons Wang Jingchen and Wang Jingyang, and a daughter Wang Jingjing, according to Chinese media reports.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Ex-Citic Group boss Wang Jun dies at 78

$2.9B USD in 2013 - wonder what he was worth now...:confused:

[GeneChing]

Zhang Xiaolei, founder of Chinese fintech firm Qbao, to serve 15-year jail firm for fraudulent fundraising (https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3015537/zhang-xiaolei-founder-chinese-fintech-firm-qbao-serve-15-year)
Zhang Xiaolei founded the online fundraising platform Qbao in 2012
Court confiscates 100 million yuan worth of Zhang’s assets for his role in the illegal fundraising scheme
Daniel Ren
Published: 5:37pm, 21 Jun, 2019

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/methode/2019/06/21/3ac4fd66-93ff-11e9-a6c8-8445313d8ede_image_hires_173738.jpg?itok=IGijWzqW&v=1561109863
In this image taken from an undated video footage run by China’s CCTV, Qbao’s founder Zhang Xiaolei speaks with police while in custody in Nanjing in eastern China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: CCTV via AP Video

Zhang Xiaolei, a prominent figure in China’s fintech sector, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme that involved at least 50 billion yuan (US$7.25 billion) of investors’ money.
The Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangsu province handed down the punishment to Zhang, 50, after charging him with financial fraud and embezzling depositors’ money through illegal fundraising, and confiscated 100 million yuan of his assets, Xinhua reported on Friday.
Zhang, who founded Qbao.com, an online fundraising platform in 2012, pleaded guilty and said he would not appeal the ruling, it added.
The punishment is the latest example that has exposed high risks in China’s once thriving fintech industry.
Banquets, lies and protests: the collapse of Qbao, another popular Chinese Ponzi scheme
Qbao was touted as a “unique ecosystem” to support small businesses three years ago by state-run China Central Television.
“There are big lessons for Chinese financial regulators to learn after the collapse of a large number of fintech firms,” said Ding Haifeng, a consultant with Integrity Financial Consulting in Shanghai. “Bold steps taken to reform the finance industry offered huge loopholes for such unscrupulous people to tap and pocket illicit gains.”
Qbao offered annualised returns between 20 and 60 per cent to investors, which had 200 million registered users.
Zhang handed himself to police in Jiangsu province at the end of 2017 after his business failed to generate enough cash to repay depositors.
Qbao was the main sponsor of the Spanish soccer team Real Sociedad, but it dumped the Chinese company in February 2018 when it could not keep up with its financial commitment to the La Liga team.
It is unknown how much of investors’ money deposited at Qbao has been recovered.
The Qbao case is the biggest scandal in China’s fintech sector after regulators, in 2015, uncovered frauds by Ezubao, one of the country’s largest peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms which illegally raised 76 billion yuan from more than 900,000 investors.
In 2017, Ding Ning, head of Ezubao, was sentenced to life in prison for his role as the ringleader in the Ponzi scheme.
P2P businesses grew by leaps and bounds since 2013 when Beijing encouraged online firms to help reform the country’s banking system.
The P2P platforms are supposed to act as matchmakers between borrowers and investors, but thousands of businesses illegally raised funds from depositors before lending them to companies such as property developers to chase lofty interest income.
Qbao also organised banquets for “bao fans” – the investors who had put their faith in the company and its business model.
Chinese police investigated more than 10,000 cases of illegal fundraising last year, up 22 per cent from 2017, according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the highest national level agency responsible for prosecution and investigation.
It said that the total amount of money involved in these scams hit 300 billion yuan, more than double the figure a year earlier.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Qbao founder gets 15-year prison term for Ponzi scheme

One thing I'll say about the chicoms - when they catch a corrupt tycoon, they make them do time.

[GeneChing]

Eric Tse, 24, just became a billionaire overnight (https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/24/asia/china-billionaire-sino-intl-hnk-scli/index.html)
Jessie Yeung, CNN
Updated 9:38 AM ET, Thu October 24, 2019

https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/191024145626-eric-tse-rihanna-exlarge-169.jpg
Hong Kong billionaire Eric Tse with Rihanna in a photo posted in September 2017.

(CNN)He's 24 years old. He parties with Rihanna and Bella Hadid. He watches basketball games with Yao Ming.
And on Tuesday, he became a billionaire.
Eric Tse, who recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School of Finance, was gifted about $3.88 billion in his family company's shares on Tuesday.
Tse's parents are both executive directors of Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited, and on Tuesday they gave him a fifth of the company's total issued shares "as a gift at nil consideration," according to a company statement.
Tse, who is from Hong Kong, is the latest member of Asia's booming billionaire club -- but apparently wants no part in the wealth rankings. The company statement said "he will endeavour not to participate in such rankings in his own name, and would recommend participating in such nominations in the name of the Tse Ping family."
The statement suggests he wants to keep a low profile -- yet as documented on Instagram, he's been rubbing elbows with the rich and famous long before the share transfers. In 2017, he posed with renowned models Bella Hadid and Lily Aldridge at a Bulgari party in Venice. Just a few months later, he posted a photo with singer and Fenty Beauty owner Rihanna in New York, captioning it, "Party with my idol."
His Instagram posts tell the story of a globetrotting life -- snowboarding in Japan, parasailing in Thailand, swimming with dolphins in the Bahamas.


erictse0816 (https://www.instagram.com/p/BCozKsLRI8G/?utm_source=ig_embed)
•
https://scontent-sjc3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/3a6efd0488dd1e143a540d253505c24b/5E42E57E/t51.2885-15/e35/12729419_1522474014723523_627584284_n.jpg?_nc_ht=s content-sjc3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=1

erictse0816's profile picture
erictse0816
#最萌身高差 #withthegiant #姚明 #YaoMing
189w
MARCH 6, 2016
He's also posted photos with some of the most prominent athletes in China, like Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Sun Yang and basketball icon Yao Ming.
He has met political leaders and members of royalty like Princess Charlene of Monaco and former French first lady Carla Bruni -- but more striking are the close ties he seems to have with mainland Chinese politicians.
That's not surprising, as his father Tse Ping was previously a committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.
On October 1, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the younger Tse attended Beijing celebrations open only to invited guests and dignitaries.
The company statement on Tuesday said Tse's parents had transferred the shares to him "to refine the management and inheritance of family wealth." The document was signed by the company's chairwoman, Theresa Tse -- Eric's sister.
Shares aside, Tse also gained a new position -- executive director of the company's executive board committee. According to the company statement, before being given this role, he previously served as CEO at the North America arm of recruitment company Liepin.
CNN has reached out to Tse for comment.
Tse is part of a new wave of wealth in China. A "rich list" released earlier this month showed that although Chinese wealth is concentrated in the hands of tech entrepreneurs, pharmaceutical moguls -- like those in Tse's family -- are making ground. Pharmaceutical moguls make up 8% of China's rich list, double that of 10 years ago.
China's young rich also sparked last year's viral "flaunt your wealth" challenge, which later spread worldwide. The challenge involved people photographing themselves pretending to fall out of luxury cars or trip, spreading their expensive belongings in front of them as if they've just casually fallen out of their pockets.
According to a new report released Monday, there are also more Chinese than Americans in the richest 10% of people in the world -- a first.
The last line is the kicker and kind of the reason I started this thread.

[GeneChing]

Macau tycoon Alvin Chau pays mistress Mandy Lieu $38 million “breakup fee” after she leaves him (https://shanghai.ist/2019/11/04/macau-tycoon-alvin-chau-pays-mistress-mandy-lieu-38-million-breakup-fee-after-she-leaves-him/?fbclid=IwAR2C3-iev98uvt50z2pDHUd8z4qtEY2HvpizObIaYioOEGb4wdnnuodR Yvk)
Chau refused to divorce his wife and elevate Lieu
by Alex Linder November 4, 2019 in News

https://i1.wp.com/shanghai.ist/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/mandy-lieu2.jpg?w=998&ssl=1

While model Mandy Lieu isn’t going to become the wife of Macau casino tycoon Alvin Chau, she has received a nice consolation price.

Lieu, 34, has been Chau’s mistress for the past five years. However, after seeing that Chau, 45, has no intention of divorcing his wife, 38-year-old Heidi Chan, Lieu has decided to end the relationship, receiving a generous “break-up fee” of HK$300 million ($38 million), according to report last week from Apple Daily.

A Malaysian-American model, Lieu began dating Chau in 2014. The two made no secret about the relationship, going out together hand-in-hand. Lieu has given birth to three of Chau’s children, raising them in London.

Meanwhile, Chau also has two children with his wife (as well as another son from a previous marriage) who has publicly told other women to stay away from her husband. Chan also reportedly wanted a divorce. Chau, however, refused, wanting to keep his family intact at the expense of his mistress, his other family, and his wallet.

Though most of us wouldn’t ask for money after dumping someone, that’s not the way things work in the world of wealthy tycoons in Greater China where magnates are rumored to pay off their former girlfriends or mistresses with extravagant sums.

Wonder what Chau is worth...

[GeneChing]

More on Wang Sicong (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao&p=1296389#post1296389)


Billionaire's son is the latest target of China's social credit system (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/billionaire-s-son-latest-target-china-s-social-credit-system-n1080411)
A failure to pay his debts within the given time will see Wang Sicong join the ranks of “discredited” people.
A look inside China's social credit system
JUNE 4, 201907:51
Nov. 13, 2019, 1:35 AM PST
By Dawn Liu

BEIJING, China — A high-profile Chinese businessman is on the brink of becoming a social outcast and being banned from his lavish spending habits by the courts if he doesn't pay back $21.5 million debt, even though he is the son a well-known real estate tycoon.

Wang Sicong, the son of the billionaire owner of AMC Theaters, Wang Jianlin, was last week listed in the national database of the Supreme Court of China of debtors and defaulters with outstanding debt. A failure to pay within the given time will see him join the ranks of “discredited” people.

China is experimenting with a score-based social credit system which is designed to create a society of trust and sincerity by rewarding good behavior and punishing the dishonesty. Once someone is discredited, they could face a harsh penalty and a lifelong stain on their character.

Huang Weijun, a former discredited man who owed $86,000 to a company, had to endure many limitations.

“I only had the option of taking a bus to travel from another city to my city, which took more than 20 hours,” Huang said. “My private property was frozen and I wasn’t allowed to sell my house or make investments, before I paid the debt.”

https://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2019_46/3095851/191112-wang-sicong-mc-1202_e6b0a376cd070db9dcf499d20c899866.fit-560w.JPG
Image: Businessman Wang Sicong in Shanghai, China.Businessman Wang Sicong in Shanghai, China.VCG / Getty file

Wang is still one step away from being discredited but is already banned from taking flights, staying at five-star hotels, going to golf clubs, visiting nightclubs, or taking vacations, by order of the court.

Wang has been known for flaunting his wealth on social media. He has used social media to post pictures of his extravagant sports cars and expensive meals and to show that he'd spent $36,000 on a few Apple watches for his pet dog.

Wang’s predicament stemmed from a financial dispute, caused by the bankruptcy of his online game live streaming company Panda TV earlier this year, which landed him a lawsuit.

In October, Wang was banned from high-level spending and the fund of his private equity firm Prometheus Capital was frozen by two courts in Shanghai.

As China’s most famous and outspoken “second generation” rich person, Wang has around 44 million fans on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter. But for the past six months, he hasn’t posted any content.

“When he is restricted on high consumption, some of his partners might need to consider if he is financially capable and those who owe money to him might delay the payment,” Hunan-based lawyer Liu Jingcheng said. “It is very bad for his business.”

“If Wang can’t solve this issue, his dad should able to solve this,” Liu said, “But his dad didn’t do so, which might suggest there is some capital issue in his family.”

On Monday, Wang issued a statement through his team on the website of Prometheus Capital.

“Mr. Wang also has many other investments and his other achievements should not be neglected due to his one failure,” the statement reads, “Currently he is doing everything he can to cope with the situation and has already come up with a solution. We are fully capable of solving our problems.”

Dawn Liu
Dawn Liu is a researcher for NBC News based in Beijing.

Leou Chen contributed.

[GeneChing]

Huawei CEO says his daughter should be proud she became a 'bargaining chip' in the trade war (https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/01/tech/huawei-ceo-ren-zhengfei-daughter/index.html)
By Kristie Lu Stout and Yuli Yang, CNN Business
Updated 7:47 AM ET, Sun December 1, 2019

Shenzhen (CNN Business)Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei, has been called the face of the US-China trade war.

But to Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, she is the daughter he praises for her year of "suffering."
"She should be proud to have been caught in this situation. In the fight between the two nations, she became a bargaining chip," Ren said in an interview with CNN Business on Tuesday.
Meng was detained in Canada at the request of US authorities one year ago on Sunday. She remains under house arrest in Vancouver and is awaiting a hearing on her possible extradition to the United States. She and Huawei face a number of charges — including bank fraud, trade secrets theft and skirting US sanctions on Iran — in US federal courts.
Meng and Huawei deny the charges.
Huawei, the world's biggest telecommunications maker and a leading smartphone brand, has become a flashpoint in the trade war. Washington says Huawei poses a national security risk and engages in business that runs counter to US foreign policy interests. The company denies those allegations.
But the United States has been ratcheting up the pressure. Earlier this year, Huawei was placed on a US trade blacklist. The restriction bars American firms such as Google (GOOGL), Intel (INTC) and Micron (MICR) from doing business with Huawei unless they obtain a US government license to do so. Some US firms, such as Microsoft, received limited licenses last week.
Ren is now fighting to ensure the company's survival. He has often compared Huawei to a bullet-ridden plane and employees to mechanics working frantically to patch the holes. At the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, there are black and white posters plastered on walls showing a World War II-era aircraft shot through with bullets, but still flying — a reminder to staff of what's at stake.

https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/191128013141-meng-wanzhou-handout-medium-plus-169.jpg
Huawei Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, leaves her Vancouver home to appear in British Columbia Supreme Court on September 23, 2019.

Meng, Ren said, is also suffering and will be stronger for it.
"The experience of hardship and suffering is good for Meng and her growth. Under the grand backdrop of the ... trade war, she is like a small ant being caught between the collision of two giant powers," Ren said.
Meng spends her time painting and studying, and her mom and husband fly to Canada regularly to stay with her, according to Ren.
The 75-year-old executive said the ordeal has brought him closer to his daughter. There's no routine, but he says they chat more than they did before, and he sometimes sends her funny stories he finds online.
"In the past, Meng Wanzhou might not give me a single call in a whole year. She wouldn't ask how I was, or even send me a text message," Ren said. "Now, our relationship has become much closer."
Days after Meng's arrest in Vancouver, diplomatic relations between China and Canada soured. China arrested two Canadian citizens — former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor.
Beijing has charged them with espionage and denies that their arrests are related to Meng's case.
Ren said he doesn't know the details of Kovrig and Spavor's arrests, adding that he is in no position to comment on the situation.
Kovrig has yet to see his lawyer or family, according to the International Crisis Group, his employer. Spavor's current status could not be determined.
Meng will officially challenge her extradition to the United States next January.
As for her future at Huawei, one thing is certain: She won't be getting a promotion.
"Hardships like this one will have a major impact on a person's grit and character. However, when she returns to Huawei, it doesn't mean that she'll be given greater responsibilities," said Ren.
As CFO, she can handle financial matters, but she is ill equipped to take on other aspects of the business because she doesn't have a background in technology and doesn't have what it takes to lead, according to Ren.
"If the company is led by someone without strategic acumen, the company will gradually lose its competitive edge. That's why when Meng comes back, she'll continue to do what she has been doing all along," he said.
— Sherisse Pham contributed to this report.

It's a strange feather to put in one's cap, but I get it.

[GeneChing]

‘Completely normal’ man who chopped Chinese millionaire Yuan Gang into 108 pieces found guilty of manslaughter in Vancouver (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3045107/completely-normal-man-who-chopped-chinese-millionaire-yuan-gang)
Zhao Li had faced a murder charge but judge said it had not been proven that he intended to kill Yuan when he shot him
Killer said he dismembered Yuan ‘like a bear’, following a fatal argument in which Yuan said he wanted to marry Zhao’s TV star daughter
Ian Young in Vancouver
Published: 9:55am, 8 Jan, 2020

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/methode/2020/01/08/beb5c6d4-31b4-11ea-9400-58350050ee52_image_hires_205522.jpg?itok=yb0KRhRi&v=1578488129
Chinese businessman Yuan Gang lived a playboy's lifestyle before his 2015 murder. Photo: BC Supreme Court

A man who killed a Chinese millionaire then chopped him into 108 pieces in his Vancouver mansion has been found not guilty of the businessman’s murder, after a judge ruled that the intent to kill had not been proved.
British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Terence Schultes instead found Zhao Li, 59, guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, as well as interfering with human remains.
Outside the court on Tuesday, Zhao’s lawyer Ian Donaldson praised the ruling and said his client was a “completely normal” man, whose actions on May 2, 2015, were considered “unthinkable” by those who knew him.
Zhao, an experienced hunter, did not dispute having shot dead Yuan Gang, 42, with a rifle in the driveway of his home, nor that he then cut Yuan’s body into 108 pieces in the garage, putting the remains in plastic bags. Yuan and Zhao both lived in the home, with Zhao’s wife Li Xioming, who is Yuan’s cousin.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2020/01/08/6ee54ca6-31b4-11ea-9400-58350050ee52_1320x770_205522.jpg
Florence Zhao is the star of the reality show Ultra Rich Asian Girls. Photo: HBIC TV

But Zhao’s lawyers said he was provoked when Yuan told Zhao that he wanted to marry Zhao’s daughter, Florence Zhao, then a 26-year-old reality TV performer who starred in the show Ultra Rich Asian Girls and regarded Yuan as her uncle. She was already married to another man at the time.

He’s a completely normal, sensible and well-adjusted human being. Until this day [of the killing]
Zhao Li’s lawyer Ian Donaldson
An argument spiralled into a deadly confrontation in which Zhao struck Yuan with a hammer, fracturing his skull, then shot him twice in the driveway of the house, with the fatal shot delivered from near point-blank range, Schultes said.
Zhao, who stands about 155cm tall, said he was afraid of the much bigger Yuan, and his lawyers depicted him as a timid and non-confrontational man.
After neighbours heard the shots, police were called and a special operations team surrounded the home in the elite British Properties neighbourhood, while Zhao set about butchering Yuan’s remains with a power saw and a knife.
“He was dealing with it as he would have dealt with an animal carcass,” said Schultes as he read his verdict.
However, Zhao’s gruesome actions after the killing had “no probative value” in determining whether Zhao was guilty of second-degree murder, or manslaughter, Schultes ruled.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2020/01/08/1dd5471c-31b4-11ea-9400-58350050ee52_972x_205522.JPG
Yuan Gang in an undated file photo from social media. Photo: Weibo

Other relatives of Yuan have depicted the killing as the culmination of a financial dispute between Yuan and Zhao.
Donaldson said outside court that the verdict was a “fortunate outcome” for Zhao but one which the defence had pursued.
“It will take him a while to process it … he’s a thoughtful man,” said Donaldson of his client. “The evidence didn’t support murder.”
Zhao was a man of “previously unblemished character”, Donaldson said.

He was dealing with it as he would have dealt with an animal carcass
Mr Justice Terence Schultes describing Zhao Li’s dismemberment of Yuan Gang
“He’s a completely normal, sensible and well-adjusted human being,” the lawyer said. “Until this day [of the killing]. Non-violent. Non-anything. That kind of report came to us from all sorts of different people. Completely non-violent: one of the witnesses said that this was the last thing in the world he would ever expect to hear concerning Mr Zhao.”

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2020/01/08/67da7c0e-31b6-11ea-9400-58350050ee52_1320x770_205522.JPG
A 2015 courtroom sketch of Zhao Li. Illustration: Reuters

The case has riveted Vancouver’s Chinese community with its lurid details of Yuan’s killing and his private affairs.
In addition to the British Properties home, Yuan also owned a 10-bedroom mansion in expensive Shaughnessy, as well as a private island, luxury cars and a multimillion-dollar yacht.
Shaughnessy hosts a high concentration of Chinese wealth.
Huawei CFO Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, who is fighting a US bid for her extradition from Canada to face fraud charges related to her company’s alleged breaching of US sanctions, currently resides in the neighbourhood. Meng’s mansion there is valued at about C$16 million (US$12.3 million).
Li Zhao charged with dismembering corpse in multimillion-dollar mansion
6 May 2015

Florence Zhao flaunted the trappings of Yuan’s wealth on Ultra Rich Asian Girls, a show which depicted the gaudy lifestyles of a group of apparently rich young Chinese immigrants in Vancouver. Yuan’s Rolls-Royce, his Pym Island hideaway and the mansion where he would later be killed were all featured in the show as part of “Flo-Z’s” family fortune.
Worth C$8 million as recently as last year, the British Properties house is now valued at C$4.2 million.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2020/01/08/7f8c5cc8-31b6-11ea-9400-58350050ee52_1320x770_205522.JPG
The Vancouver home where Yuan Gang was shot dead. Photo: SCMP
A separate Canadian civil case over Yuan’s estate heard accounts of his playboy lifestyle, including that he had more than 100 “girlfriends”. He had at least five children, all by different mothers, none of whom were aware of the others’ existence, the judge in that case found.
The five children will split Yuan’s estate, worth up to C$21 million, after that judge ruled in February that a woman who said she was his de facto wife had no claim to the estate. A second woman had also claimed to be Yuan’s wife, while Yuan had in fact married a third woman.
But that marriage amounted to immigration fraud, the judge in the civil case said, allowing Yuan to obtain permanent residency in Canada in 2007. They divorced months later.
Yuan is said by his family to have made his fortune in real estate investment. But he was implicated in a bribery scandal in China, in which a mainland court said he paid an official in Yunnan province a 1kg gold bar in exchange for coal mining rights. Yuan was never charged in the case and only served as a witness in the prosecution of the official, The Vancouver Sun reported.
A date for Zhao’s sentencing will be set next week. Manslaughter carries a maximum term of life in prison, but that is very rarely applied; the mandatory minimum sentence ranges from four to seven years.
Zhao has already spent almost five years behind bars, which will be taken into account.

Ian Young
Ian Young is the Post's Vancouver correspondent. A journalist for more than 20 years, he worked for Australian newspapers and the London Evening Standard before arriving in Hong Kong in 1997. There he won or shared awards for excellence in investigative reporting and human rights reporting, and the HK News Awards Scoop of the Year. He moved to Canada with his wife in 2010.
The new 'normal'

[GeneChing]

The tycoon (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao) behind Kung Fu Tea (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?51971-Kung-Fu-Restaurants-amp-Bars)...


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Meet Shuang Crossland – The Woman Behind Some Of Denver’s Most Popular Asian Restaurants (https://303magazine.com/2020/03/shuang-crossland-one-concept-restaurants/)
KRISTINA VASQUEZ MARCH 12, 2020FOOD + BOOZE
6 MIN READ

It’s difficult to find someone who has more passion about creating Asian cuisine restaurants in Denver than Shuang Crossland. She is the woman behind One Concept Restaurant Group — the parent company of Go Fish Sushi, Poké Concept, The Bronze Empire, Kung Fu Tea and Makizushico.

https://images.303magazine.com/uploads/2020/02/GoFish-APIELA-303Mag-4.jpg
Photo By Amanda Piela

Having grown up in Dalian, China, Crossland took inspiration from watching her mother and grandmother cook. But having a career in the restaurant world wasn’t her first thought, she was always interested in cosmetology or fashion design. Jokingly, Crossland said none of her friends or family wanted her to do their makeup so she took that as a sign to move on. When Crossland and her family moved to the US and settled in Colorado, she switched her focus to higher education — specifically international business at Metropolitan State University of Denver. While in school she held a few hostess jobs at various Korean restaurants, though it kept her busy, it also slowly pulled her further into the restaurant industry.

https://images.303magazine.com/uploads/2020/02/GoFish_Kori_Hazel_303-Magazine-2.jpg
Photo By Kori Hazel

Though Crossland didn’t finish school, it was the server role she landed at Go Fish Sushi that led to her future path. Her inner battle of wanting to improve and reinvent various aspects of the restaurant led to a partnership offer with Go Fish Sushi’s owner and thus became her new passion. After taking the reins at Go Fish, her next restaurant project came to her unexpectedly but at the perfect time.

After seeing how well Crossland had been running Go Fish Sushi, owners of The Bronze Empire reached out to her asking if she would like to assume ownership of their hot pot restaurant. Crossland recognized the potential that Bronze Empire had but, unfortunately at the time, it was only really visited by the Chinese community in Colorado. Rather than taking full ownership of Bronze Empire, Crossland decided to share ownership with the original owners and help them make it more successful.

“[Bronze Empire] was an easy decision, because Chinese hot pot is what I grew up eating. Each restaurant is different from the other so they are free to adapt to each concept. The concept I was going for at Bronze Empire is a newer version of hot pot, ” Crossland said.

At the time there were only a few hot pot restaurants in the area and Crossland noticed with Denver’s growing population there would be a unique niche for this cuisine if it was marketed correctly. And with that, The Bronze Empire became her first booming restaurant after Go Fish Sushi.

https://images.303magazine.com/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-08-at-12.49.41-PM.png
Photo Courtesy of Poké Concept

After each restaurant concept becomes self-sufficient, Crossland is quick to move on to her next endeavor. With inspiration from a trip to Hawaii, Crossland decided it was time to open a traditional Hawaiian poké restaurant — Poké Concept. With various locations locked in for Poké Concept and other concepts in the pipeline, Crossland formed the unified banner, One Concept Restaurant Group (OCRG).

OCRG is set up with Shuang Crossland and her partner who mainly deals with back of house operations along with three directors. Restaurant ideas like OCRG’s newest, Makizushico in Littleton come from a creative collection between the team. Once the construction, themes, locations and chef roles are fulfilled — OCRG looks for qualified managers to run the day to day operations for each restaurant. Usually, Crossland looks to her team at Go Fish, The Bronze Empire or Poké Concept for opportunities to promote from within.

READ: A Brand New Sushi Spot Opened In Littleton With Unique Hot And Cool Tapas

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Photo Courtesy of Juneau Wong— Makizushico

While a majority of the restaurants under OCRG are unique to Denver, one of their concepts is originally from New York. Crossland opened her own Kung Fu Tea franchise in 2017 with her twin sister Lian — who just so happens to be a real estate agent, which comes in handy when Crossland is searching for concept locations. After selling out at the first Denver location opening, Kung Fu Tea has become a very lucrative concept for OCRG. In fact, Kung Fu Tea is set to open a Stapleton location sometime in April 2020.

Despite this recent rapid growth, none of Crossland’s business ventures are done on a whim — some of her conceptions have been floating around for years before any of them come to fruition. It’s Crossland’s serious business mindset that makes her successful in this industry — while her fun and caring side shows her team that all her efforts are dedicated to them.

“I’ve worked with bad companies before where they didn’t value their employees and it really showed. I’m forever dedicated to my team because there is no way I could do anything by myself, I need them just as much as they need me,” said Crossland.

“She gives everyone the ability to show her what you can do. She has such an eagerness to teach and help others succeed just as much as her,” said OCRG director, Antonio Gudino.

As for creating successful restaurant experiences, Crossland is always looking at Denver’s demographic to see what each community wants from OCRG. As much as Crossland is working towards future restaurant ideas, she is always grateful for the connections made at some of her longest-running restaurants like Go Fish Sushi.

https://images.303magazine.com/uploads/2020/02/GoFish_Kori_Hazel_303-Magazine-6.jpg
Photos By Kori Hazel

“I enjoy being able to see children grow up as they visit my restaurants over the years. There’s this father and daughter that have been coming to Go Fish since I was just a server. I remember when she was so little, all she could eat was two or three pieces from a California roll and now she’s a teenager eating raw sushi. It’s so awesome to get to see families really grow up,” said Crossland.

It’s experiences like this that drive her to create more restaurant concepts for families all over Colorado. While Crossland has the desire to take some of the brands global like Poké Concept, she still very much wants to remain local.

With a couple new restaurant concepts in the pipeline for 2020, OCRG hopes to change the face of Asian cuisine in Denver. The word is that their newest ventures will be unlike any they’ve done before.

[GeneChing]

WORLD
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested, top aide says (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kong-media-tycoon-jimmy-lai-arrested-top-aide-says-rcna73)
The democracy activist was detained under a new national security law that punishes what China considers subversion, secession and collusion with foreign forces.


https://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/rockcms/2020-08/81/200809-jimmy-lai-axc-929p-61e833_5fef7efaba73a2d9a55cf706cc9beae62d1ea90c.fi t-1240w.jpg
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai in a July interview.Vincent Yu / AP
Aug. 9, 2020, 6:35 PM PDT / Updated Aug. 9, 2020, 6:39 PM PDT
By Reuters

HONG KONG — Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been arrested over suspected collusion with foreign forces under the new national security law, his top aide said on Twitter, in what is the highest-profile arrest yet under the legislation.

Lai has been one of the most prominent democracy activists in the Chinese-ruled city and an ardent critic of Beijing, which imposed the sweeping new law on Hong Kong on June 30, drawing condemnation from Western countries.

The new security law punishes anything China considers subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Critics say it crushes freedoms in the semiautonomous city, while supporters say it will bring stability after prolonged pro-democracy protests last year.

"Jimmy Lai is being arrested for collusion with foreign powers at this time," Mark Simon, a senior executive at Lai's media company Next Digital , which publishes local tabloid Apple Daily, said early on Monday.

Police did not immediately comment.

Lai was also arrested this year on illegal assembly charges, along with other leading activists, relating to protests last year.

In an interview with Reuters in May, Lai pledged to stay in Hong Kong and continue to fight for democracy even though he expected to be one of the targets of the new legislation.

This does not bode well...

threads
Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao)
HK protests (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?23536-Hong-Kong-protests)

[GeneChing]

Chinese tycoon who criticized Xi Jinping's handling of coronavirus jailed for 18 years (https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/22/asia/china-ren-zhiqiang-xi-jinping-intl-hnk/index.html)
By Steven Jiang, CNN Business

Updated 9:43 AM ET, Tue September 22, 2020
Chinese billionaire sentenced to 18 years on corruption charges

Ren Zhiqiang, a retired real-estate tycoon with close ties to senior Chinese officials, disappeared in March after he allegedly penned a scathing essay that month criticizing Xi's response to the coronavirus epidemic. He was later charged with corruption-related offenses.

https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160229145834-ren-zhiqiang-money-exlarge-169.jpg
Ren Zhiqiang, a former real estate tycoon and outspoken government critic.
On Tuesday, a court in Beijing found Ren guilty on multiple charges, including embezzling some $16.3 million (110.6 million yuan) in public funds, accepting bribes, and abuse of power that caused losses totaling $17.2 million (116.7 million yuan) for the state-owned property company that he once headed.
Judges sentenced him to 18 years in prison and imposed a fine of $620,000 (4.2 million yuan). The court said he "voluntarily confessed all of his crimes" and "was willing to accept the court's verdict after all of his illegal gains were recovered."
China's court system has a conviction rate of around 99%, according to legal observers, and corruption charges are often used to go after Communist Party insiders who fall afoul of the leadership.
Ren's conviction and heavy sentence appears designed to send a message to other members of the Chinese elite that any public criticism or defiance of Xi will not be tolerated, as Beijing continues to deal with the fallout of the pandemic and faces intense international pressure from Washington and others.
'The Cannon'
Born into the Communist Party's ruling elite, the 69-year-old Ren had often been outspoken on Chinese politics, far more than is usually allowed in the authoritarian state.
His forthrightness earned him the nickname "The Cannon" on Chinese social media.
In the essay published in March, widely attributed to Ren, the author lashed out at the party's crackdown on press freedom and intolerance of dissent. While the essay did not mention Xi by name, it obliquely referred to the country's top leader as a power-hungry "clown."
"I saw not an emperor standing there exhibiting his 'new clothes,' but a clown who stripped off his clothes and insisted on continuing being an emperor," Ren allegedly wrote of Xi's address to 170,000 officials across the country at a mass video conference on epidemic control measures on February 23.
The essay went on to accuse the Communist Party of putting its own interests above the safety of the Chinese people, to secure its rule.
"Without a media representing the interests of the people by publishing the actual facts, the people's lives are being ravaged by both the virus and the major illness of the system," Ren allegedly wrote.
Soon after the essay was published online, Ren disappeared, and relatives feared he had been detained. Authorities confirmed Ren was being investigated on corruption related charges in early April, and expelled the longtime member from the Communist Party in July, paving the way for his criminal prosecution.
This is not the first time Ren ran afoul of the Chinese leadership for speaking his mind.
In 2016, he was disciplined after questioning on social media Xi's demands that Chinese state media must stay absolutely loyal to the party. He was put on a year's probation for his party membership and his wildly popular account on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, was shuttered.
This time, however, there appears to be no second chance for Ren. If he serves his full sentence, he will be in his late 80s by the time he is released.
CNN's James Griffiths, Nectar Gan and Ben Westcott contributed reporting.

99% conviction rate.

[GeneChing]

DECEMBER 10, 20208:32 PM UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai charged under national security law (https://www.reuters.com/article/hongkong-security-idUSKBN28L0DL)
By Reuters Staff

3 MIN READ

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 73, has been charged under the city’s national security law on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces, his Apple Daily newspaper reported on Friday, citing a police source.

https://static.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20201211&t=2&i=1544223916&r=LYNXMPEGBA0I5&w=1024

Lai, an ardent critic of Beijing, would be the highest profile person charged under the sweeping new law imposed on the Chinese-ruled city in June.

He was due to appear in court on Saturday, according to Apple Daily, a popular tabloid known for its feisty and critical coverage of China and Hong Kong.

The security law, which punishes what Beijing broadly defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in jail, has been condemned by the West and human rights groups as a tool to crush dissent in the semi-autonomous, Chinese-ruled city.

Authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing say it is vital to plug gaping holes in national security defences exposed by months of sometimes violent anti-government and anti-China protests that rocked the global financial hub over the last year.

“The goal is to hold Jimmy Lai, and shut Jimmy Lai up,” Mark Simon, an associate of Lai, told Reuters.

Hong Kong police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The publishing tycoon is one of the financial hub’s most prominent democracy activists, while his Next Media group is considered one of the key remaining bastions of media freedoms in Hong Kong.

Tensions between China and the United States have escalated in recent weeks as Washington accuses Beijing of using the security law to trample wide-ranging freedoms guaranteed when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Authorities have intensified a crackdown on opposition forces in the city, dismissing lawmakers from the legislature, conducting widespread arrests and jailing high-profile democracy activists such as Joshua Wong.

Lai was denied bail earlier this month following his arrest on a separate charge of fraud related to the lease of a building that houses his Apple Daily, an anti-government tabloid.

He was arrested in August when about 200 police officers swooped on his offices. Hong Kong police later said they had arrested nine men and one woman for suspected offences including “collusion with a foreign country/external elements to endanger national security, conspiracy to defraud” and others.

The tycoon had been a frequent visitor to Washington, where he has met officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to rally support for Hong Kong democracy, prompting Beijing to label him a “traitor”.

Reporting by Twinnie Siu and Greg Torode in HONG KONG; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Sam Holmes, Lincoln Feast and Michael Perry

threads
Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao)
Hong-Kong-protests (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?23536-Hong-Kong-protests)

[highlypotion]

threads
Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao)
Hong-Kong-protests (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?23536-Hong-Kong-protests)

Hi, Geneching.

I always noticed that you are so informative and I'm very proud of you for being so informative. Keep up your good work! Thank you for this as well :)

[GeneChing]

https://video-images.vice.com/articles/5ffe9d2d4384dd009c0d7280/lede/1610522734860-img3758.jpeg
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF JONATHAN LAWRENCE
Film
What it’s Like Directing a Vanity Film for a Chinese Billionaire (https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjpejv/what-its-like-directing-empires-of-the-deep-vanity-film-for-chinese-billionaire?fbclid=IwAR16emolx6SVyNq1vfnGHSy21eVzC qW6ZqZiXc59QjxliAuVrHPXGgQujo4)
"Empires of the Deep" was supposed to be "Transformers meets Shakespeare." But $100 million and a string of Hollywood directors couldn't save it.
CS
By Chris Shearer
January 13, 2021, 8:47pm

“You’re nobody. You’ve done nothing. Why would I hire you?”

Jon Jiang wouldn’t even look at Jonathan Lawrence as he fired off short bursts of Mandarin for his assistant to translate. It was strange that these men were sharing a table in a Los Angeles restaurant. Jiang, a few years shy of 40, had founded a real estate empire that had grown with China’s middle class and made him a billionaire. Lawrence, an American on the wrong side of 40, had directed short films and music videos, and his last gig was unpaid.

But the two men shared a love of Hollywood cinema. Since seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark as a teenager, Lawrence’s hero had been Steven Spielberg and he often wore an Indiana Jones-style fedora. Jiang too claimed to have watched over 4,000 films, and believed he could use his vast wealth to make Chinese epics in the vein of Spielberg, George Lucas or Peter Jackson. They were meeting because Jiang was considering hiring Lawrance to direct his debut screenwriting effort: a CGI-driven underwater epic called Empires of the Deep. But the men just weren’t connecting. Jiang was being standoffish, rude.

“You don’t have to hire me,” Lawrence replied finally.

Later, after the meeting, Lawrence handed the script to his assistant to make a few notes as a favour to his producer buddy, Mark Byers, who had set up the meeting. His assistant called the script “horrific and completely disjointed”. And that was the last Lawrance heard from Jiang for nearly two years, until he got another email from Byers. It wasn’t a long email, but it set Lawrence on a strange and frustrating journey that would ultimately consume a year of his life.

“Would you like to direct this movie in China?”

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This is the story of how indie film director Jonathan Lawrence came to direct what was in 2007 billed as the most expensive Chinese film of all time. According to Jon Jiang, Empires of the Deep had a budget of US $100 million and a plot that was just as inflated.

Set underwater in Ancient Greece, the film chronicled an epic war between mermaids and demons. Using a mixture of American and Chinese cast, and shooting in China, Jiang’s vision was to make “Transformers meets Shakespeare”—but from Lawrence’s telling the production was more like Apocalypse Now meets The Room. And in the end, no one saw the final product.

In the two years since his first meeting with Jiang, Lawrence had heard a few rumours about the project. The French director known as Pitoff, best known for 2004’s Catwoman, was hired to direct, but Lawrence’s producer buddy said Pitoff and Jiang had been butting heads and little was achieved. Pitoff had apparently left the production for a short holiday and never returned. Now Jiang wanted Lawrence.

“I was probably still a little bit hurt by how rudely I felt I’d been treated,” Lawrence says, “but I said ‘sure, I’ll direct a movie in China. Make a little money, have a little fun’.”

The offer had come so suddenly that Lawrence was still reading the latest version of the script—which at this stage had been rewritten by multiple hands—on the plane to China. It certainly seemed as though it had been written via committee; it read to Lawrence as a convoluted, disjointed mess.

“But I did see potential,” he admits. “I did see that this could be a really fun movie if it would lighten up and stop taking itself so seriously.”

Lawrence got to work rewriting it yet again. The assistant director told him “this is in complete disarray. Nothing is ready and they want to shoot immediately”—supposedly because they knew winter was on the way. But Lawrence saw this as an opportunity. This could be his big break. The script could be more cohesive, and the CGI department was working on some great models of the giant monsters that would do battle on screen.

He was taken to a warehouse filled with props so he could pick out what weapons and wardrobe he wanted for the main cast—many of whom hadn’t even been hired yet.

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“They took to me to this giant warehouse full of amazing sculptures and finely-crafted wardrobe and props and set pieces, and I was like ‘this is great!’ Then someone said ‘oh there’s nothing here, this has all been rejected by Jiang. We’re going to the next warehouse’.”

Jiang’s touch was everywhere, and his vision was not to be altered. When Lawrence made suggestions, Jiang would reply via his interpreter “Pitoff said the same thing. I have no need for the ways of Hollywood, but I want to conquer Hollywood”.

“At some point he permitted me to rewrite the first act, and he said ‘ok, this is actually really good’. And then he proceeded to cut all the heart out of what I had written,” Lawrence says.

“He was like ‘ok, get to the action’, and I said ‘well the action isn’t important unless you care about the people that are in peril. I’m trying to build up that care first’. But no no, he wanted to get to the action.

“He kept talking about Transformers: ‘this is going to be big like Transformers’. He said it was a cross between Transformers and Shakespeare. I was trying to wrap my head around that and said ‘I think you’re going to alienate one of those audiences’.”

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As the main cast began to arrive in China, it was clear things weren’t shaping up like in a Hollywood production. The script was still a mess, and sets and props had been scrapped and rebuilt. A very experienced cinematographer walked off the production, telling Lawrence “this is a train wreck, I’m not going to do this”. But Lawrence, after weeks of feeling out Jiang, was starting to feel like he had a little more pull on the production.

“Initially I was feeling pretty good once we got on set,” he says. “The first thing we shot went quite well. Then we went to another set, and it was like, ‘this is harder’.”

The several hundred fully-costumed extras that Lawrence had been promised never eventuated, so he had to make do with, at most, about 30. The locations were cold and wet, and the actors didn’t have trailers to warm up in. On one set the cages of chickens that were being used for background scenery were left unattended, so every morning there would be dead chickens that stunk out the set.

Then there was the problem of communicating with the Chinese crew. Lawrence had been assigned an assistant to translate, but he only found out towards the end of his tenure that she was only fully translating about half of the time. She was worried about offending Jiang and being fired, Lawrence says.

The culture on set was different too. In Hollywood everyone would keep quiet between takes, but on the Empires set the noise rose tremendously as soon as Lawrence yelled cut, slowing down takes.

“At some point I just screamed at the top of my lungs to shut the **** up, you know? And everybody stopped, looked at me, and then went right back to talking,” Lawrence says.

Throughout all of this, Jiang would be making contradictory choices or riding roughshod over Lawrence’s direction.

“I had already recommended several times that we could shoot a lot of this on a stage, a 20-foot by 20-foot stage of sand with a green screen. But Jiang said ‘nope nope, gotta shoot location because Peter Jackson said you gotta shoot location’.”

continued next post

[GeneChing]

follow the link above for the vid below


Watch this video to see the giant wall constructed after a translation issue.

For a pivotal battle scene they’d found a beautiful stretch of coastline marred only by a beach resort off to one side. Lawrence had joked that they could just build a wall to hide it, and both he and the assistant director had laughed. But the humour didn’t translate.

“When we finally came to shoot at the location I saw this giant wall being built, and I was like ‘oh, I was kidding’.” So they had to comp in a background after all.

The script was still a mess too. Jiang wouldn’t budge on most things, and ignored Lawrence’s suggestions.

“At one point about halfway through I said to my interpreter ‘tell him this is the worst ****ing script I’ve ever read’,” Lawrence recalls. “He didn’t seem offended, and without missing a beat he said ‘well who are you? You don’t have any credits on IMDB as a writer.’ And I said ‘neither do you!’

“Looking back after all these years I probably should have listened to my assistant director who said ‘stop caring about this. Just get the shots. Stop trying to make it something it’s never going to be. Just realise this is what Jiang wants, and he’s going to get what he wants one way or the other, so stop caring and just go out and make pretty shots’.

“I really couldn’t take that at the time,” Lawrence continues. “I couldn’t deal with that. I was really looking at this like, ‘hey I can see how fun this could be. A big fun movie’. He kept trying to make Shakespeare, but that’s not what it was. I should have somehow stopped caring, or cared just enough to get the shots, collect the paycheque and go home.”

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Collecting those paycheques weren’t even that easy. Actors constantly complained about being paid late, and when a group of Russian extras said they hadn’t been paid Jiang’s people sent police to their hotel to check visas as an intimidation tactic. Even Lawrence’s payments were sometimes late, so he threatened to walk off the production if the money wasn’t transferred immediately. One day the crew arrived at the studio to find they’d been locked out because someone had forgot to the pay the bill.

By Lawrence’s own estimation, the claimed $100m budget was probably just Jiang talking up the production. He estimates that in reality it was more like $30m.

“That’s a generous estimate,” he says. “But in many respects, there was money spent.”

Such trying conditions also impacted the American cast, who many of the Chinese crew along with Jiang thought were being soft. After a day’s shooting inside a wet, cold cave—another of Jiang’s ‘shoot on location’ musts—actor Irena Violette walked off set. Whether she quit or was fired depends on who you ask, but the spat between Violette and Jiang’s people escalated until Jiang’s people said they wouldn’t return Violette’s passport—or her boyfriend’s passport—until she paid them back her fee.

Lawrence spoke with the couple and together they hatched a plan. They had to get to the American embassy so they could get temporary travel documents, so in order to help them escape the hotel Lawrence called a full production meeting while they slipped out a window.

Lawrence also had a trusted Chinese crew member write the couple a note explaining the situation to the police, who would hopefully help them get to the embassy. For the next few days following the couple’s flight, Lawrence secretly emptied the plates of food left at their door to maintain the illusion that they were still bunkered down in their room.

A few days later they let him know they’d made it to the embassy, and were on their way out of China.

“At that point my mind was just turning to the movie about the movie,” Lawrence says. “‘This movie may never be made, but the movie about the movie has to get made’. To me everything just kind of became a cinematic experience.”

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But Lawrence’s passion had been waning for a while. After five months of trials and tribulations on set, he’d had enough.

He was due on another production back in the States, and Jiang’s people asked if he would stay on. When Lawrence gave them the figure it would take, Jiang called it highway robbery. So Lawrence thanked Jiang for the chance to work on his film, said his goodbyes, and left. He had mixed feelings about leaving the film incomplete, but it was time.

“Had they scrounged up the money I was asking for I would have stayed another couple of months and tried,” he says. “But I think it’s probably best that it worked out the way it did, because I was so soured I don’t think I was much benefit to the production.”

Another director followed after Lawrence, and then another. Lawrence kept abreast of what was happening on the production through the actors he had befriended. He heard about the new directors struggling with Jiang’s vision, heard about the legal troubles holding up the film’s release.

Then, in 2012, these “godawful” trailers started coming out, and it looked like Empires of the Deep would finally see the light of day. It seemed in a perpetual state of being six months from being released—but that was almost a decade ago. Today, Lawrence thinks we’ll never see Empires on the screen, even though there is apparently a final cut.

“I think there’s so much embarrassment and shame involved in this production that I don’t think the authorities that are in charge of cinema there will ever let it out,” he says. “I think there’s too much embarrassment and humiliation from this entire production.”

In the years since, Lawrence’s opinions of Jiang and the production have softened, and he says he recognises he could have done things differently.

“I think in the early days my own frustration contributed to making Jiang sound like an egomaniac, which maybe he was, but he did build this from the ground up. He did pull this together, as unconventional as it was; he did have quite a vision for it, no doubt. So I can’t really fault him for that, or for wanting to have this in a very particular way.

“I actually respect Jiang for his vision and unrelenting drive to get it done his way. But that was also kind of the demise of the project, because he wouldn’t let much go when it wasn’t working.

“If I had been a little more ‘go with the flow’ it might have gone a little smoother,” he says. “It might have gone smoother if they were a little more malleable too.”

Today, Lawrence is still making smalltime films—but he’s happy in the work.

“At this point in life I am removed from any bitterness or resentment of everything that went wrong, and I’ve made peace with my own shortcomings on the project,” he says.

“I was a nobody at that time. Probably still am,” he adds after a moment’s pause. “But that’s okay, because I’m still having a good time making movies.”

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ThreadsChinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao)
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[GeneChing]

MARCH 2, 202112:35 AM UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Jack Ma loses title as China's richest man after coming under Beijing's scrutiny (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-alibaba-jackma-idUSKBN2AU0QL)
By Yingzhi Yang, Brenda Goh

3 MIN READ


BEIJING (Reuters) - Alibaba and Ant Group founder Jack Ma has lost the title of China’s richest man, a list published on Tuesday showed, as his peers prospered while his empire was put under heavy scrutiny by Chinese regulators.

Ma and his family had held the top spot for China’s richest in the Hurun Global Rich List in 2020 and 2019 but now trail in fourth place behind bottled water maker Nongfu Spring’s Zhong Shanshan, Tencent Holding’s Pony Ma and e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo’s Collin Huang, the latest list showed.

His fall out of the top three comes “after China’s regulators reined in Ant Group and Alibaba on anti-trust issues,” the Hurun report said.

Ma’s recent woes were triggered by an Oct. 24 speech in which he blasted China’s regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his Ant Group’s $37 billion IPO just days before the fintech giant’s public listing.

Regulators have since tightened anti-trust scrutiny on the country’s tech sector, with Alibaba taking much of the heat; the market regulator launched an official anti-trust probe into Alibaba in December.

Chinese regulators also began to tighten their grip on the fintech sector and have asked Ant to fold some of its businesses into a financial holding company to be regulated like traditional financial firms.

Ma, who is not known for shying away from the limelight, then disappeared from the public eye for about three months, triggering frenzied speculation about his whereabouts. He re-emerged in January with a 50-second video appearance.

China’s current richest man, Zhong, made his first appearance at the top spot with a fortune of 550 billion yuan ($85 billion), largely thanks to the share price performances of Nongfu Spring and vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which he also controls.

Tencent’s Ma saw his wealth swell 70% over the year to 480 billion while Pinduoduo’s Huang’s fortune grew 283% to 450 billion yuan, the list said. In comparison, the wealth of Ma and his family grew 22%, to 360 billion yuan.

Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, broke into the top five rankings among Chinese billionaires in Hurun’s Global Rich List for the first time, with an estimated personal wealth of $54 billion.

($1 = 6.4696 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Yingzhi Yang in Beijing and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Raju Gopalakrishnan

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[GeneChing]

Ticking Debt Bomb in China’s $18.1 Trillion Bond Market (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-15/china-tycoon-who-lost-32-billion-tries-to-salvage-his-empire)
Business
China Tycoon Who Lost $32 Billion Tries to Salvage an Empire
By Shirley Zhao, Venus Feng, and Rebecca Choong Wilkins
March 15, 2021, 12:00 PM PDT Updated on March 16, 2021, 2:31 AM PDT
Wanda Group’s cinemas, malls hit by pandemic as debt ballooned
Founder Wang Jianlin’s wealth is now a sliver of its 2015 peak


DALIAN WANDA COMMERCIAL MANA
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Wang Jianlin used to be Asia’s richest person, busy expanding his Dalian Wanda Group Co. by acquiring trophy assets overseas, all aided by easy credit.

Now the 66-year-old doesn’t even figure among China’s top 30 richest people, having lost about $32 billion of his personal fortune in less than six years -- the most for any tycoon in that period. As Wang seeks to cut the group’s total debt from 362 billion yuan ($56 billion) and turn his entertainment-to-property empire around, he’s facing skeptical bond investors.

Braced for a wall of maturing onshore notes peaking this year, some of Wanda’s dollar bonds were among the first to tumble earlier this month, when a broader decline hit the Asian credit market. The selloff, partly triggered by concerns over the looming payments, came as a warning from investors eager to see how Wang will manage to steer his group clear of the debt risks that convulsed peers such as HNA Group Co., China Evergrande Group and Anbang Group Holdings Co.

“The group’s liquidity is a key consideration for investors,” said Dan Wang, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. A representative for Wanda didn’t respond to requests for comment on the debt risks.

Wanda’s Wang, who once purchased Spanish soccer club Atletico Madrid as part of the binge-buying and aspired to compete with Walt Disney Co., is still shedding some of those assets. The latest came last week, when Wanda gave up control of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., with its stake now representing less than 10% of the world’s largest movie-theater chain. Its chief executive officer said the company would be governed by a wide group of shareholders, and the stock has surged more than 42% in the past three days.

Despite the disposals following a government crackdown on credit-fueled expansion, Wanda Group’s debt as of June ballooned to the highest since 2017. The pandemic has only added to the woes, dealing a blow to its cinemas, malls, theme parks, hotels and sports events.

Three Pillars
Malls and hotels accounted for almost half of Wanda's 2019 revenue


Source: Wanda Group

Note: Graphic excludes 7.5 billion yuan in losses from Wanda's other investment activities

As China stabilizes its economy after containing the virus, the reopening of movie theaters and malls is providing Wang the much-needed time to steady his ship. He’s pressing ahead with a strategy he’s advocated for years, called the “asset-light” model, to reduce leverage.

That means spending less by cutting back on land purchases. Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group Co., one of the world’s biggest mall operators that accounts for almost half of the group’s revenue, will stop buying plots starting this year and license its brand to partners instead, the company’s President Xiao Guangrui told mainland media in September.

No Alternative
“Wanda had no real alternative to its new asset-light strategy,” said Brock Silvers, chief investment officer at Kaiyuan Capital in Hong Kong, who doesn’t hold any Wanda unit shares or bonds. “The company’s debts were unsustainable.”

The effect of the pandemic on Wanda has been astounding.

Movie producer and cinema operator Wanda Film Holding Co. said it may have racked up a record $1 billion in net loss last year. Despite becoming a favorite in the recent Reddit-fueled share rally, AMC warned several times it was near the brink of insolvency and reported its worst-ever annual loss as revenue plunged 77%. Wanda Commercial Management said sales and profit fell nearly 50% in the first nine months of 2020, while Wanda Sports Group Co.’s American depositary receipts were delisted in January after losing more than two-thirds of their value since they began trading in July 2019.

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/iNPH44Q6BNRs/v0/1400x-1.jpg
A closed AMC movie theater in Tucson, Arizona, in June 2020.Photographer: Cheney Orr/Bloomberg
Even if Wanda’s businesses tide over the global health crisis, there’s no certainty creditors will be kind after the developments at other indebted Chinese conglomerates such as HNA, Evergrande and lately at Suning Appliance Group Co.

In an offering circular in September, Wanda told investors that the group’s level of indebtedness may “adversely affect” some operations. The conglomerate is also facing tighter credit rules in the real estate sector as Chinese regulators look to curb financial risk.

Wanda and its units raised about 48.2 billion yuan in local and offshore debt last year, the most since 2016. A part of it was used to pay older obligations as the group needs to refinance or repay about 32 billion yuan of domestic bonds due in 2021.

While the group’s dollar bonds have almost erased their losses since tumbling earlier this month -- their worst week in almost a year -- credit traders cited concerns over the group’s maturing local bonds and a selloff in some of its onshore notes.

Wanda Commercial Management’s debt is rated non-investment grade by Fitch Ratings, S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service.

The Good, Bad and the Offloaded
Businesses are still bouncing back from lockdowns


Sources: Filings, Wanda Group, Bloomberg

In his heyday, Wang -- a former People’s Liberation Army soldier -- jetted around in his Gulfstream G550 private plane, paying top prices for assets including a luxury property in Beverly Hills, Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment and One Nine Elms in London, one of Europe’s tallest residential towers.

His fortune took a dive as China started to crack down on such expansion and capital outflows. His wealth has shrunk to about $14 billion from a peak of $46 billion in 2015, when he was crowned Asia’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

“Wanda gained surprisingly little from its period of unconstrained investment opportunity,” said Kaiyuan Capital’s Silvers. “The company has since been quicker to shed assets than other conglomerates, but it still has far to go.”

The asset-light strategy would help generate sustainable recurring rental income for Wanda Commercial Management, the “cash cow” of the group, said Chloe He, corporate-rating director at Fitch. It can also prevent the company from committing heavy capital expenditure and taking on too much debt, she added.

“This is going to be very helpful for them to deleverage in the future, provided they don’t invest in something else,” He said.


— With assistance by Emma Dong, Evelyn Yu, Adrian Yim, and Jack Witzig

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[highlypotion]

Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration to keep rolling.

[GeneChing]

For Americans claiming censorship and media bias, ours is a capitalist economy so it is driven by private enterprise money, not the government. The PRC is communist so it is more likely government. But in all honesty, if I truly understood what was going on, I'd be an international market analyst making big bucks, not a martial arts writer posting on this forum here. :o


Wang Zhongjun Steps Down as Chairman of Huayi Tencent Entertainment (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wang-zhongjun-steps-down-as-chairman-of-huayi-tencent-entertainment)
10:09 PM PDT 3/28/2021 by Patrick Brzeski
https://static.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2016/10/gettyimages-102884260-h_2016-928x523.jpg
China Photos/Getty Images

The Hong Kong-based holding company has been used by Huayi Brothers, Tencent and other investors to make offshore investments into international films, such as the Russo brothers' 'Cherry' and Roland Emmerich's upcoming 'Moonfall.'
Chinese movie mogul Wang Zhongjun, co-founder of Huayi Brothers Media, has stepped down as chairman of holding company Huayi Tencent Entertainment.

Established in 2016, the firm, which is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, has been used by Huayi Brothers, Tencent and its other investors as a vehicle to co-finance international films and buy stakes in companies listed outside China. The joint venture was established when its backers took over a Hong Kong-listed shell company that was formerly a retirement home developer in Hong Kong.

Huayi Tencent's recent investments include the South Korean sci-fi film Space Sweepers, the Russo brothers' crime drama Cherry and Roland Emmerich's forthcoming sci-fi action film Moonfall. The firm also owns a 31 percent stake in South Korean TV drama producer HB Entertainment.

Huayi Tencent said in a statement Friday that Wang was resigning "as he needs to devote more time to his other business engagements," and that his exit would be effective March 30.

Huayi Brothers Media, which Wang founded with his younger brother Wang Zhonglei in the 1990s, was previously the largest stakeholder in Huayi Tencent, but the Beijing-based parent company offloaded 13.17 percent of its shares last November, dropping its stake to just 5 percent. The sales were part of an ongoing retrenchment of the brothers' longstanding entertainment empire, which was battered by bad press following a tax evasion scandal that swept the Chinese industry in 2018. The company got a $100 million lifeline from Jack Ma's Alibaba in 2019, and began to see its fortunes recover last year with the $460 million success of its WWII tentpole The Eight Hundred.

Wang's exit from the Hong Kong-listed holding firm comes at a time of radically diminished outbound investment by China's major entertainment companies. After a gold rush period five years ago, when Chinese firms were bankrolling everything from Hollywood slates to new U.S. production entities (Huayi co-financed an entire slate at STX Entertainment and bought a sizable stake in the Russos' production venture Agbo), investment ground to halt in 2017 amid official discouragement of such dealmaking by Chinese regulators, and its declined further amid the deteriorating diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing.

Huayi Tencent's current CEO Yuen Hoi Po, will temporary assume Wang's day-to-day management responsibilities. A new chairman will be elected "as soon as possible," the firm said in a statement. Yuen is currently Huayi Tencent's largest shareholder with a 17.8 percent stake.


PATRICK BRZESKI

patrick.brzeski@thr.com
@thr

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[GeneChing]

Billions from bubble tea and other success stories from Asia’s beverage moguls (https://www.tatlerasia.com/power-purpose/others/top-beverage-bubble-tea-companies-asia)
By Clifford Olanday
Feb 02, 2024

https://cdn.tatlerasia.com/tatlerasia/i/2024/02/02112602-18135457-my-brian-loo-sally-quah-tatler-16093-a1-fullres-cover-1196x1600_cover_1196x1600.jpeg
COVER Bryan Loo, founder and CEO, Loob Holding
NEW

The business leaders at the helm of Asia’s leading beverage companies satisfy the region’s demand for variety, flavour and inventiveness in drinks
Double caramel smoothies, brown sugar pearl lattés, cream sodas, energy drinks—the business leaders on Asia’s Most Influential are satisfying more than just a basic need; their success comes from answering the demand for variety, flavour and inventiveness in drinks. Behind some of the biggest homegrown beverage companies, they contribute to the projected $60-billion growth of the non-alcoholic beverage sector in Asia this year, which includes a flourishing $3.7-billion bubble-tea sector. These business leaders are also reaching beyond their success in Asia, with their refreshment brands now available in North America and Europe.

https://cdn.tatlerasia.com/tatlerasia/i/2024/02/02112551-17015523-img-7927-1-cover-500x554_cover_500x554.jpg
ABOVE Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, president, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited

Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi leads Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (ThaiBev), the largest drinks company in Thailand, with over 200 subsidiaries and many popular brands under its belt, including non-alcoholic beverages such as Oishi Green Tea, Est Cola and Crystal drinking water, as well as alcoholic drinks like Grand Royal whisky, Chang beer and Ruang Khao liquor.

To solidify its success throughout the region, ThaiBev has embarked on Passion 2025, a five-year roadmap focused on three goals: build new capabilities by enhancing its business model and product offerings; strengthen its leadership positions in the core markets of Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore and Malaysia; and unlock potential by building partnerships and developing a world-class workforce.

It has been announced that Sirivadhanabhakdi will take on a bigger role in the beverage company, becoming director and group CEO on June 27, 2024.

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ABOVE Jian Zhi Guo, executive director, CoCo International

As the executive director of CoCo International, Jian Zhi Guo plans the business strategies of the beverage company behind the global bubble tea brand CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice. Established in Taiwan in 1997, CoCo now offers its drinks beyond Asia, opening stores in North America (in the US and Canada), South America (in Peru) and across Europe (in France, the UK, Sweden and more). Apart from its signature milk tea drinks (taro with sago, Japanese matcha with red beans), it also offers creations with popping pearls, drinks with Yakult, slushies and smoothies

Recognised for its “exceptional quality and spirit of innovation”, CoCo was among the global winners at the World Branding Awards, which was held at Kensington Palace in the UK in 2023. The brand is also committed to the environment, hosting upcycling workshops in Barcelona, installing solar panels in its warehouses and prioritising eco-friendly packaging in its production.

https://cdn.tatlerasia.com/tatlerasia/i/2024/02/02112602-18135457-my-brian-loo-sally-quah-tatler-16093-a1-fullres-cover-1196x1600_cover_1196x1600.jpeg
ABOVE Bryan Loo, founder and CEO, Loob Holding
“Thinking outside the box and being forward-thinking is also important. This means exploring new possibilities and opportunities to gain a competitive advantage. By anticipating future trends and adapting strategies accordingly, a good leader can create innovative solutions to meet the needs of their customers,” said Loob Holding CEO Bryan Loo to Tatler.

The businessman continues to drive the success of Tealive, one of the most prevalent bubble tea chains in the region. In 2021, Loo partnered with Creador, selling a 30-per cent stake to the private equity firm to fuel Tealive’s expansion. Now, Tealive operates over 1,000 outlets in Asia and beyond, with stores also in the UK, Canada, Australia and Mauritius. In 2023, the CEO further invested in the brand, opening a tapioca pearl production facility in Selangor that can produce 400 tonnes of pearls per month for Tealive’s production.

Loo completes his beverage empire with more ventures: Bask Bear coffee, sparkling water maker Sodaxpress and kombucha brand Wonderbrew.


Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69088-Chinese-Tycoons-CEOs-amp-Tuhao)
Bubble-Tea-Boba (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69498-Bubble-Tea-Boba)

[GeneChing]

Owner of well-known Chinese spicy snack brand keeps family wealth secret from son until he is in twenties, wants him to be down-to-earth (https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3254186/owner-well-known-chinese-spicy-snack-brand-keeps-family-wealth-secret-son-until-he-20s-wants-him-be)
Scion told household in debt and lives in ‘ordinary’ flat
Family spills lucrative spicy food brand secret and son now ‘happy’ to be rich
Trending in China

Fran Lu
in Beijing
Published: 9:10am, 25 Mar 2024

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/03/25/e24e4226-0e60-4b36-9713-0512a2486e65_6f923bf5.jpg?itok=InyhoImB&v=1711327856

The son of the owner of a well-known snack brand in China said he did not know his family was wealthy until he graduated from university, a story that has stunned mainland social media.

Zhang Zilong, 24, told the mainland media outlet Jiupai News that his multimillionaire father, Zhang Yudong, lied to him about his real financial status for the first 20 years of his life, so he would work hard to achieve success.

Zhang senior, 51, is the founder and president of the Hunan spicy gluten latiao brand Mala Prince, which produces 600 million yuan worth (US$83 million) of goods a year.

The brand was created in the same year that Zhang junior was born.

Zhang junior said he grew up living in an “ordinary flat” in Pingjiang county, Hunan province in central China.

He was aware of his father’s famous brand but was told that his family had gone into debt to keep the company running.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/03/05/01179af9-fb91-48d8-9da4-dfa1f2154f31_9bf0aab0.jpg
Zhang Yudong founded the business but managed to keep its huge success from his son and heir for two decades. Photo: Weibo

He attended one of the best secondary schools in the capital city of Hunan, Changsha without his family using their connections to secure admission.

On graduating from university, Zhang junior’s dream was to find a steady job that paid about 6,000 yuan (US$800) a month so he could slowly help his family repay their debt.

It was after graduation, that Zhang senior told his son the family was, in fact, very wealthy, and they moved to a newly-built villa that cost 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million).

After that, Zhang junior began working in the e-commerce department of his father’s company, where colleagues treated him like any other young employee.

He said both he and his father would not want him to live like a spoiled fu er dai, a term of derision that means “second-generation rich” in Chinese.

However, he admits that being affluent is a privilege he enjoys.

“Being rich does make me happy,” he said last December in an interview with a Douyin influencer, @Xiangxiangdazuozhan.

Zhang junior said his dream now is to help the company go public and sell to international markets. His father said he would only consider giving him the company if his performance justifies it.

Some online observers said the story sounded unrealistic, but others said they believed it after seeing Zhang junior’s frugal way of living that included his wardrobe of cheap clothes.

“What a fairy tale. The ordinary frog turns into the Mala prince,” said one person on Douyin.

“I believe the story. The brand only started advertising itself in recent years. It must be because the prince graduated and there was no need to hide any more,” said another.

“The way he speaks and looks seems honest and down-to-earth. His family educated him very well,” said a third person.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/03/05/be1ffc23-86b9-4b41-afb2-5f599d61b716_545e2f3c.jpg
The elder Zhang kept his wealth secret because he wanted to keep his son’s feet firmly on the factory floor. Photo: Weibo
Interesting parenting stories constantly make news in China.

In February, a Chinese father’s video on how he educated his primary school son to look after his money, amassed half a million likes on Douyin.

The man allowed his son to keep all his lucky money and gave him 100-yuan pocket money a month from the age of four.

He never interfered with his son’s purchases or financially rewarded his study grades, and tried to ensure he grew up with a healthy attitude towards money.



Fran Lu
Fran has been a reporter since 2014, mainly covering social and cultural stories about China. She writes about lifestyle, social trends and youth culture. Remarkable

[GeneChing]

A Chinese Billionaire Just Spent More Than $250 Million on Lavish Mansions Spanning Half the Globe (https://robbreport.com/shelter/celebrity-homes/xu-hang-house-beverly-hills-hong-kong-1235583972/)
Medical device tycoon Xu Hang has four extravagant new homes, including Mark Wahlberg's 90210 estate and Heather Dubrow's Newport Beach mansion.
Modified on April 17, 2024 , Published on April 16, 2024
By JAMES MCCLAIN

https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/xu-hang-house.jpg?w=1000
Anthony Barcelo; Getty Images

Three months ago, Asia-based real estate blog Mingtiandi reported on the sale of one of Hong Kong’s most extravagant homes, a nearly 12,000-square-foot hilltop mansion in the ultra-prestigious Peak neighborhood. The house, a limestone-faced and liberally embellished two-story structure with unobstructed views of the city skyline and Victoria Harbour, sold for HK$838 million, or roughly $107 million USD.

The sale was notable not just because it ranks as one of Hong Kong’s biggest real estate deals over the past couple of years, but because it’s one of the few ultra-luxury Hong Kong homes that have sold to a Mainland Chinese buyer in recent years, amid an ongoing Hong Kong housing slump and a sluggish mainland economy. Per property records, the house was acquired by an entity controlled by a Shenzhen-based woman named Gu Fang.

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The palatial mansion sold for a discounted $107 million in early 2024, a rare bright spot in Hong Kong’s sluggish real estate market.
GOOGLE EARTH

People familiar with the properties now tell Robb Report that the same woman, Gu, is also directly linked to the purchase of three of the most expensive U.S. homes that have sold in the past 18 months, two of them being high-profile estates with Hollywood celebrity ties. In October 2022, a mystery buyer paid $55 million for the Newport Coast mansion of reality TV personalities Dr. Terry and Heather Dubrow. Four months later, a mystery buyer dropped another $55 million on the wildly extravagant Beverly Hills mansion of actor Mark Wahlberg.

Although the new owner’s name was not revealed at that time, it was widely reported that both the Dubrows’ home and Wahlberg’s estate were acquired by the same buyer, an anonymous Mainland Chinese billionaire now believed to be directly associated with Gu.

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In late 2022, Heather Dubrow’s 20,000-square-foot Newport Coast mansion sold for $55 million to an LLC linked to Gu Fang.
GOOGLE EARTH

Gu, believed to be in her 50s, is the longtime wife of Xu Hang, one of China’s richest men and the co-founder of Mindray Medical, China’s largest medical device manufacturer.

It’s perhaps not such a surprise that Xu and Gu would be on the hunt for ultra-luxury homes, despite China’s broader economic slowdown. The Covid-19 pandemic proved extraordinarily lucrative for Mindray; in 2020, the net worth of company cofounder Li Xiting—Singapore’s richest man—was reported to be increasing by a mind-bending $1 billion per month due to high worldwide demand for ventilators. As for Xu, Forbes says his personal net worth has likewise ballooned over the past few years, from $1.8 billion in 2018 to a peak of $19.5 billion in 2021. The Bloomberg Billionaire Index pegs his current wealth at $12.1 billion, making him Shenzhen’s richest man, while Forbes notes he is the world’s fourth-wealthiest man in the healthcare industry.

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Located in the Beverly Park gated community, Mark Wahlberg’s house sold in early 2023 for $55 million to an LLC linked to Gu Fang.
GOOGLE EARTH

As it turns out, the Beverly Hills, Newport Coast and Hong Kong mansions are not the only extravagant homes in Xu’s portfolio. In early 2023, billionaire real estate developer Stephen Ross sold his mansion-sized penthouse at the Time Warner Center in New York City for $40 million, a major discount off the unit’s original $75 million ask. The buyer, records show, was yet another LLC with links to Xu and Gu.

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A lavish penthouse at Manhattan’s Time Warner Center sold in early 2023 for $40 million to an LLC linked to Gu Fang.
GETTY IMAGES

Putting all four purchases together reveals Xu has spent $257 million—in cash—on luxury real estate since late 2022, though it’s also worth noting that the tycoon has scored major discounts on at least three of his four new properties. The Hong Kong manor, sold for $107 million, had been originally offered at a lofty $166 million. Similarly, the Wahlberg house and Manhattan penthouse were also acquired at substantial discounts—the Wahlberg property at a 37% discount off its $87.5 million list and the N.Y.C. place at 47% below the original ask.

In all, Xu shaved off a combined $126 million from the asking prices of those three homes alone. The fourth property, the Dubrow estate, was never officially listed on the open market, though it had reportedly been marketed as a pocket listing with an asking price of more than $60 million.

"IN CASH" This chicom's got bank. :eek: