Hui Ka Yan

Hui Ka Yan (Chinese: 许家印, or Xu Jiayin in Mandarin Chinese), born 9 October 1958, is a Chinese billionaire businessman and chairman of Evergrande Group, a Chinese real estate developer.^[2]

Hui is the largest shareholder of China Evergrande Group, holding nearly 60 per cent of stock as of December 2021.^[3] In 2017, Evergrande Real Estate Group achieved sales of RMB 450 billion (US $69.5 billion). The Guangzhou-based company was China's biggest property developer in 2016, based on sales volume; revenue was 211.4 billion yuan (US$31.8 billion).

As of December 2021, Xu has an estimated net worth of $6.2 billion, making him the 462nd wealthiest person in the world, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index,^[4] down from a peak of $45.3 billion in 2017.^[5]

Early life and education[]

Xu Jiayin was born from a rural family in Jutaigang Village, Gaoxian Township, Taikang County, Henan, on October 9, 1958.^[6][2][7] His father is a retired soldier who participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s and 1940s.^[8] After the establishment of the communist State he became a warehouseman in his home village.^[8] Xu's mother died of sepsis when he was 8 months old.^[8][7] He was raised by his paternal grandmother.^[8][7] After high school he worked in a cement product factory for a few days and then worked for two years at home.^[9][7] He was the production team leader.^[10] After resuming the college entrance examination in 1978, Xu was accepted to Wuhan Institute of Iron and Steel (now Wuhan University of Science and Technology) serving as commissary in charge of hygiene in his class.^[11]

Career[]

After university in 1982, Xu was assigned to the heat-treatment shop of Wuyang Iron and Steel Company (Chinese: 舞阳钢铁公司), where he was promoted to associate director in 1983 and director in 1985.^[12][13] Xu served as director for seven years there.^[14] After he resigned in 1992, he moved to Shenzhen, the newly founded special economic zone in southeast China's Guangdong province.^[15] He was accepted by a trading company named "Zhongda" (Chinese: 中达).^[15] One year later he became president of its branch office named "Quanda" (Chinese: 全达).^[16] On October 1, 1994, Xu moved to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, to establish the Guangzhou Pengda Industrial Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 广州鹏达实业有限公司).^[17]

In May 1996, Xu Jiayin, with a monthly salary of 2000 yuan, left Zhongda Group after unsuccessful negotiation with the boss of this society.

In March 1997 he founded the Evergrande Group and served as its chairman of the board.^[18] Xu is the owner of Guangzhou Evergrande football club, one of China’s most successful football clubs as of 2016.^[19] in 2019, Xu announced a three-year investment in electric cars worth approximately $6.4 billion.^[20]

At its peak of 2017, his fortune was thought to have been $45.3 billion, and in 2020 Forbes listed Xu as third on the list of Richest Chinese Billionaires.^[5] However, from 2017 to 2020 his wealth was estimated to have dropped by more than $20 billion to $21.8 billion due to mounting debts, which were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.^[21] The Hurun China Rich List of October 2021 still estimated his personal fortune to be around $11.3 billion in autumn 2021.^[22] However, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index his net worth had dropped to $6.2 billion by 13 December 2021, having lost $17.2 billion on the year,^[23] due partly to the sale of personal assets in the context of the Evergrande liquidity crisis.^[24][25]

Personal life[]

He married Ding Yumei (Chinese: 丁玉梅), whom he met in Wuyang Iron and Steel Company (Chinese: 舞阳钢铁公司).^[26] The couple has two children and lives in Guangzhou.^[2]

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Guo Hongwen; Xu Yahui (2017). 《恒大许家印》 [Evergrande Group: Xu Jiayin] (in Chinese). Dongcheng District, Beijing: Taiwan Strait Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5168-1587-8.