China's '007 of finance' back in spotlight in Ping An deal

Xiao Jianhua, born in 1971 in Shandong province, founded and controls the low-profile but immensely powerful Beijing-headquartered Tomorrow Holdings, which has subsidiaries and direct and indirect investments in various financial companies on the mainland ranging from banks to securities houses.

Xiao 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 escaped unscathed, but has been mostly living outside the mainland since, say sources.

A prodigy, Xiao was admitted to the prestigious Peking University, more commonly known as Beida, in 1986 - when he was only 15 - to study law. He went on to become an influential student leader at the university.

Beida, offering Xiao the opportunity to make important contacts who would come in useful later in his life, was also where he launched his first business. In the early 1990s, Xiao started a small technology firm that was allowed to use Beida as part of its name, giving it instant credibility.

By 1999, Xiao merged all the firms he had founded or invested in into Tomorrow Holdings, marking the beginning of a rapidly expanding business empire.