Xu Rongmao

Xu Rongmao
许荣茂
Born 1950 (age 65)
Shishi, Fujian, China
Citizenship
  • Chinese
  • Australian[1]
Alma mater University of South Australia [1][2]
Occupation Founder & Chairman
Organization Shimao Property
Net worth
  • Increase US$7.30 bn (2007 Forbes)[3]
  • Increase US$6.9 bn (2014 Hurun)Increase A$6.35 bn (2014 BRW)
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Xu (Hui).

Xu Rongmao, JP (simplified Chinese: 许荣茂; traditional Chinese: 許榮茂; Cantonese Yale: Hui Wing Mau; born in Shishi, Fujian in 1950), is a Chinese-Australian[1] entrepreneur and billionaire, and the founder and the chairman of Shimao Property. Xu is the 8th richest man in mainland China, according to the Hurun Report China Rich List, with a net worth of 7 billion.[4] Xu is estimated to be one of the largest property developers in Shanghai.

Biography

Xu grew up in Fujian Province, the oldest of the eight children. After graduating from high school during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, he was sent to the countryside to work as a barefoot doctor. In the 1970s, he emigrated to Hong Kong and worked as a textile worker.

Property development

In 1988, he claimed to invest RMB$1.2 million in a knitting factory in his hometown, but he intended to build a hotel instead, although investments in private hotels were forbidden at that time. However, as soon as the construction was completed, the government policy was changed to allow private owners to have their hotels. Then Xu became the owner of the first private three-star hotel in China. He then started to invest into developing residential complexes and resorts in Fujian.

In the 1990s, he pushed his real estate business into Beijing and Shanghai. He undertook several property ventures in Australia in the 1990s. In 2005, The New York Times reported he had moved his family to Darwin, Australia.[2] He completed his Master of Business Administration via distance-learning from an Adelaide university[1][2] and invested in real estate in the early 1990s. During the 2003-04 year, Xu was the largest individual donor to the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party.[1][2]

In the 2000s (decade), he expanded his business by acquiring listed companies including Shimao Holdings (listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange) and Shimao International (previously listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange), while the latter was privatized by him in 2007.[5] Shimao Property was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2006.[6]

Other investments

In 2008 it was rumoured that Xu was interested in buying Newcastle United F.C. from under fire owner Mike Ashley.[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Chancellor, Jonathan (22 May 2013). "Billionaire property developer Hui Wing Mau the highest debutant on BRW Rich List". SmartCompany. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "The self-made Australian billionaire that nobody knows". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "The 400 Richest Chinese: #2 Hui Wing Mau". Forbes. 11 January 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Hurun Report China Rich List 2013". September 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  5. ↑ MAJOR AND CONNECTED TRANSACTION
  6. ↑ "Billionaire Builder of China". New York Times. 29 December 2005.
  7. ↑ "Newcastle up for sale". Daily Mail (United Kingdom).

External links