Chinese rags-to-riches tycoon Xie Zhikun dies, aged 61
- The founder of the Zhongzhi Enterprise Group died of a heart attack in Beijing on Saturday
- Xie built up a timber business into a major conglomerate, but later began selling assets amid growing concern from the authorities about debt risk
The rags-to-riches Chinese tycoon Xie Zhikun, whose investment portfolio had triggered concerns about debt risk among the financial authorities, has died aged 61.
A statement by Zhongzhi Enterprise Group (ZEG), which Xie founded, said the tycoon had died of a heart attack in Beijing on Saturday.
“Xie Zhikun devoted all his life to founding the Zhongzhi Enterprise Group. He has been patriotic, loving the [Communist] Party, diligent and dedicated, and enthusiastic about charity and public welfare. He is a true brave and fearless hero,” the statement said.
Xie, who sometimes went by his English name of Forest, kept a low profile throughout his career but was also known as the husband of popular singer Mao Amin.
Beijing names and shames local government projects in bid to cut debt
He worked in a state-owned printing factory in his early career and created ZEG as a timber company in 1995 in Yichun, a region of Heilongjiang which is best known for its woodlands.
His business began to take off after he made a fortune from taking part in private placements of Chinese listed companies, according to a report by The Beijing News in January 2018.
The group’s portfolio eventually covered a wide range of sectors, such as property and infrastructure.
It started investing in the financial industry in 2001, and in 2002 invested 120 million yuan (worth around US$14.5 million at the time) in the restructuring of Harbin International Trust and Investment, which later became Zhongrong International Trust.
ZEG become a major shareholder of Zhongrong in 2009, and since then it has evolved from a small local financing house in a remote province on the border with Russia to become one of the country’s most prestigious investment firms with total assets under its management worth 858 billion yuan (US$135.7 billion) at the end of 2016.
After 2018, ZEG started selling its stake in Zhongrong, reportedly to repay debts.
Chinese tycoon selling assets after Xi’s call to cut debt risk
The move came at a time when Beijing began to focus more on managing financial risk, which is now one of the government’s biggest concerns.
The blurred lines between banking, securities, insurance, property and other assets held by the country’s tycoons are seen as risky because their activities have happened out of the sight of the country’s market watchdogs.
Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank governor at the time, said the country was developing rules to clip the wings of the big financial conglomerates.
