Zendai owner turns his back on property, and looks instead to art
Self-styled Chinese culture lover Dai Zhikang describes the recent housing boom as a “dead cat bounce”
Dai Zhikang is known in China’s corporate world for his can-do spirit.
The founder and chairman of Shanghai-based Zendai Group, has had wonderful success in sniffing trends in the mainland’s property sector, reaping the rewards.
But now he has made an incredibly bold decision — he plans to exit from the once-great jewel in the crown of China business, and move away from property investment.
Likening the recent property market boom to a “dead cat bounce,” the 52-year-old wants to rebuild Zendai as a group, and that means top to bottom, both cultural and in how it makes its money.
“A buoyant real estate industry in China was just part of our history,” he said. “Zendai has to revamp its businesses to adapt to the great changes now happening across the Chinese economy.”
Founded by Dai in 1993, Zendai has been one of Shanghai’s leading property developers for the past two decades, with a clutch of prominent deals and projects under its belt.
Real estate was just a makeshift part of my business plan, and now it’s time to go back to our core business, and that’s finance.