Fosun’s billionaire chairman, stung by collapse of Thomas Cook, Cirque du Soleil, says missteps inevitable in global strategy

Guo Guangchang, the chairman of Fosun International, said it is inevitable that there are a few missteps along the way in its global expansion strategy

Fosun said that its tourism and cultural businesses were affected because of the extensive lockdown measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic around the world

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Cirque du Soleil artists perform in Guadalajara City, Mexico, on August 29, 2018. In June, the Canadian company, in which Fosun holds a 25 per cent stake, filed for protection from creditors. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:57pm, 28 Aug 2020Updated: 10:58pm, 28 Aug 2020

Guo Guangchang, the chairman of Fosun International, mounted a strong defence of the group’s global expansion strategy as some of its biggest overseas acquisitions contributed heavily to a 76 per cent plunge in first-half profits.

The billionaire boss of Fosun, one of China’s biggest private-sector conglomerates, said he was determined in internationalising its operations, while putting behind it the collapse of some of its businesses like British tour operator Thomas Cook, Canadian live performance company Cirque du Soleil and the slump in tourism that hit its Club Med business after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It was inevitable that a [Chinese] company would pay a huge price in its internationalisation process,” Guo told a post-results press conference on Friday. “When everyone is casting doubts on our unsuccessful investments abroad, I would like to highlight our successful deals that can justify our globalisation strategy.”

He cited the partnership with the German next-generation immunotherapy company BioNTech to develop a Covid-19 vaccine as an example.

Guo Guangchang, the chairman of Fosun Group. Photo: Simon Song

“It is only a marriage between a globalised company and a company with innovation capability that can lead to the successful launch and distribution of an effective vaccine around the world,” said Guo, 53, whose net worth is valued at 57 billion yuan (US$8.27 billion). “We will firmly maintain our initial goal of becoming a company that can bring some changes to the world.”