China’s richest man Wang Jianlin urges Beijing to motivate officials for economic growth

Wang Jianlin, the richest man in China, says Beijing should motivate officials if it is to spur economic growth.

Wang, who controls real estate giant Wanda group, told an audience at Oxford University in Britain yesterday that inaction by some officials stemmed from “flaws in systematic design”.

His comments come amid heavy public criticism of local government officials for alleged inaction and dereliction of duty. Many commentators believe Beijing’s far-reaching anti-corruption campaign has left officials too wary of taking business risks.

Wang denied the campaign had had this effect. He said it had “at least saved much trouble for business people, especially private companies … there are much fewer officials who would ask for bribes now”.

The speech came on the day the Hurun Global Rich List said Wang had displaced Hong Kong billionaire Lee Ka-shing as richest man of Chinese origin. Hurun estimated his family’s fortune at 170 billion yuan (HK$202 billion).

READ MORE: China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, blasts ‘money-squandering’ e-commerce start ups

Wang is on a five-day tour of Europe in which he is visiting Britain, Switzerland and France to visit politicians, businessmen and sports personalities.