From six men and a van to 400,000 staff and a fleet of 35 aircraft: the making of SF Express
After starting the business in a ‘grey area’, then expanding it amid an economy taking off, SF founder Wang Wei has become the latest inspiration for young Chinese entrepreneurs
Forty-six-year-old Wang Wei has become the biggest talking point in Chinese business this week, as he squeezed into the country’s top three richest after his company SF Holdings Group went public in Shenzhen last Friday.
Wearing a black outfit with his company’s logo, a pair of blue jeans, and running shoes, Wang rang the bell for the start of trading in SF shares – the company he founded in 1993 doing parcel delivery with six men and a van.
This self-made, delivery man turned top tycoon has become the latest inspiration that Chinese youngsters worship.
By Wednesday, SF Holdings’ shareprice had surged by almost 40 per cent since its debut on the Shenzhen bourse. It pushed the personal wealth of Wang up fourfold from the beginning of this year, to US$26.5 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
That makes him the third richest individual in China, after Wanda property tycoon Wang Jianlin, and Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma, while ahead of Tencent Holdings Ltd founder Pony Ma.
