Billionaires at Midea, Haitian turn Foshan into manufacturing powerhouse in Greater Bay Area’s fourth-largest economy

Name: Foshan, 'Guangzhou's little brother', offers rich traditional Chinese culture
Uploaded: 2021-04-06T00:15:18.000Z
Duration: 1 min 11 s
Description: Foshan, 'Guangzhou's little brother', offers rich traditional Chinese culture

Midea, Foshan Haitian Flavouring, Guangdong Xinbao and Hisense are among largest manufacturers in the province’s third-largest economy

Foshan, ancestral home of kung fu legend Bruce Lee, is also the birthplace of world’s biggest producer of home appliances and condiments

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The cityscape of Foshan in Thousand Lantern Lake Park Area in Nanhai district. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Iris Ouyang

Published: 8:15am, 6 Apr 2021Updated: 8:15am, 6 Apr 2021

Foshan, located about 133km northwest of Hong Kong, is the fourth-largest economy in the Greater Bay Area and home to some of the world’s biggest companies and richest billionaires.

Behind the city’s 1.08 trillion yuan (US$164.7 billion) economy is an assembly of manufacturing giants, the most famous of them being home appliances maker Midea Group and Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food.

Some 41 Foshan-based companies are traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, according to data compiled by the China Business Industry Research Institute. They commanded a combined market value of 1.61 trillion yuan at the end of 2020.

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Foshan, 'Guangzhou's little brother', offers rich traditional Chinese culture

Midea Group, Haitian Flavouring, Country Garden, Guangdong Xinbao Electric, Hisense Home Appliances Group, Grandblue Environment, Guosheng Financial Holdings, Keda Industrial, Keshun Waterproof Technologies, and Monalisa Group make up the top 10 list.

At least eight billionaires in Foshan-based companies are driving the city’s dominance in manufacturing, from electrical appliances to ceramic tiles, metal smelting and textiles.

The businesses coexist in a city that also thrives on the legend of San Francisco-born Bruce Lee, whose grandfather built the family ancestral home in the Shunde district. Foshan has the fourth-largest economic output in the Greater Bay Area, trailing Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Here are the five largest firms in Foshan, based on their market capitalisation at the close of trading on April 2.