China's '007 of finance' back in spotlight in Ping An deal
Key player behind the sale of HSBC's stake in Ping An Insurance a man of mystery
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.
His detractors argue that Xiao's mercurial rise owes much to his uncanny ability to use other people's money to leverage loans from banks for big deals and quickly cashing out when they are done.
The Tomorrow group holds stakes in several banks, securities and trust firms on the mainland. His business partners include many princelings, including the former vice-president Zeng Qinghong's son, who worked with Xiao to bid for a Taiwanese life insurer in 2009.
The Taiwan deal didn't materialise as the island's regulators could not ascertain who the real buyer was. Xiao's background and links to senior officials in Beijing also raised many eyebrows at the time.
Xiao rarely speaks or appears in public. When he contacts people, he uses a special one-way line to call or text messages that can't be traced back or replied to, according to a 2009 report by Taiwan magazine .
