Tomorrow always knows: How Xiao Jianhua, founder of the low-profile but powerful Beijing-HQ Tomorrow Holdings, came to control RMB1tn
April 22, 2013 Leave a comment
Tomorrow always knows: How Xiao Jianhua came to control RMB1tn
Staff Reporter
2013-04-22
Xiao Jianhua, founder of Tomorrow Holdings. (Internet photo)
Xiao Jianhua, founder of the low-profile but powerful Beijing-headquartered Tomorrow Holdings, controls nearly 1 trillion yuan (US$160 billion) of assets ranging from banks to securities houses. His success is founded on his company’s ability to handle rich networks and be sensitive to market information, the Shanghai-based First Financial Daily reports.
The daily said Xiao has been quick to follow every trend in China’s economic reforms, sensing the trend in every new regulation governing securities, banks, insurers and financial leasing companies.
According to New Fortune magazine, Tomorrow Holdings controls nine listing companies holding shares in 30 financial institutions, including 12 city commercial banks, six securities companies, four trust firms, four insurers, two mutual fund companies, one futures firm and one asset management company, with total assets nearing 1 trillion yuan. Yet Tomorrow itself has been almost invisible.Xiao founded his first four companies during 1996-1997 in Beijing, and founded Tomorrow Holdings in 1999. He came under the media spotlight in 2007 when Pacific Securities, part-owned by his Tomorrow group, went public. Financial irregularities were discovered in the listing process and eventually cost a China Securities Regulatory Commission vice-chairman his job. Xiao, however, escaped unscathed.
Not every move has been a success. During 2009-2010, Xiao and his business partners including former vice-president Zeng Qinghong’s son tried to bid for a Taiwanese insurer, Nan Shan Life Insurance. The Taiwan deal didn’t materialize as Taiwan’s regulators could not ascertain who the real buyer was. Xiao’s background and links to senior officials in Beijing also raised eyebrows at the time.
Chinese investors led by Xiao are behind the financing of the first phase of a multi-billion dollar deal between a Thai conglomerate and HSBC Holdings, according to financial news provider Caixin. HSBC announced in December that it would sell its 15.57% stake in Ping An Insurance Group to four companies from Charoen Pokphand Group for a total of US$9.4 billion.
Caixin learned that for a phase of the deal worth HK$15.2 billion, two-thirds of the financing was from mainland Chinese investors led by Xiao. Later both Ping An and Charoen Pokphand clarified that all the funds were from the latter’s four companies.
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