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Hui Ka Yan (Chinese: 许家印, or Xu Jiayin in Mandarin Chinese; born 9 October 1958) is a Chinese former billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of the board and Communist Party secretary of the Evergrande Group, a Chinese real estate developer. The Guangzhou-based company was China's biggest property developer in 2016, based on sales volume; revenue was 211.4 billion yuan (US$31.8 billion). In 2017, Evergrande Real Estate Group achieved sales of RMB 450 billion (US $69.5 billion). As of December 2021 Hui was the largest shareholder of Evergrande Group, holding nearly 60 percent of stock. In September 2023, Hui was arrested and under investigation for suspected illegal activity.

As of October 2023, Hui had an estimated net worth of $979 million according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, down from a peak of $45.3 billion in 2017. On 19 March 2024, Hui was fined $6.5 million for his company's $78 billion revenue overstatement and banned from China's markets for life.

Early life and education

Hui Ka Yan was born from a rural family in Jutaigang Village, Gaoxian Township, Taikang County, Henan, on 9 October 1958. His father is a retired soldier who participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s and 1940s. After the establishment of the communist state, he became a warehouseman in his home village. Hui's mother died of sepsis when he was 8 months old. He was raised by his paternal grandmother. After high school he worked in a cement product factory for a few days and then worked for two years at home. He was the production team leader. After resuming the college entrance examination in 1978, Hui was accepted to Wuhan Institute of Iron and Steel (now Wuhan University of Science and Technology) serving as commissary in charge of hygiene in his class.

Business career

As a fresh graduate in 1982, Hui was assigned to the heat-treatment shop of Wuyang Iron and Steel Company (舞阳钢铁公司), becoming its associate director in 1983 and director in 1985. Hui served as director for seven years there. After resigning in 1992, he moved to Shenzhen, the newly founded special economic zone in southeast China's Guangdong province. He was accepted by a trading company named Zhongda (中达). One year later, he became president of its branch office, named Quanda (全达). On 1 October 1994, Hui moved to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, to establish the Guangzhou Pengda Industrial Co., Ltd. (广州鹏达实业有限公司).

In May 1996, Hui Ka Yan, with a monthly salary of 2000 yuan, left the Zhongda Group after unsuccessful negotiation with the boss of this society.

In March 1997 he founded the Evergrande Group, becoming its chairman. Hui is the owner of Guangzhou Evergrande football club, one of China's most successful football clubs.

At its peak of 2017, his fortune is thought to have been $45.3 billion, putting him third on Forbes' 2020 list of the richest Chinese billionaires. However, from 2017 to 2020 his wealth was estimated to have dropped by more than $20 billion to $21.8 billion due to mounting debts, which were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The Hurun China Rich List of October 2021 estimated his personal fortune to be around $11.3 billion in autumn 2021.

Evergrande liquidity crisis and resulting detention

In the context of the Evergrande liquidity crisis, his net worth had dropped to $6.2 billion by 13 December 2021, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, having lost $17.2 billion on the year, due partly to the sale of personal assets including his US$227-million mansion in London.

On 28 September 2023, Hui was detained by police and under investigation for suspected illegal activity. Trading in Evergrande shares was suspended. He lost his status as a billionaire in October 2023, when Bloomberg estimated his net worth to be $979 million. On 19 March 2024, he was fined $6.5 million for his company's $78 billion revenue overstatement and banned from China's markets for life.

Political career

In 2008, Hui became a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, the top political advisory body in China. He was promoted to CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee in 2013, and actively participated in the conventions since then. He attended the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2021. In November 2022, he skipped a Standing Committee meeting due to the crisis at Evergrande, and was told not to attend the annual meeting of the CPPCC in March 2023.

Personal life

Hui married Ding Yumei (丁玉梅), whom he met at the Wuyang Iron and Steel Company (舞阳钢铁公司). The couple have two children and live in Guangzhou.

Bibliography

• Guo Hongwen; Xu Yahui (2017). 《恒大许家印》 [Evergrande Group: Xu Jiayin] (in Chinese). Dongcheng District, Beijing: Taiwan Strait Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5168-1587-8.

References

1. "新春特刊之许家印：父亲送我的那块梅花表". Sina Finance. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
2. ^ "Forbes profile: Hui Ka Yan". Forbes. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
3. "Evergrande chairman Hui Ka-yan forced to sell pledged shares". South China Morning Post. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
4. ^ Feng, Venus; Pei, Yi Mak (24 October 2023). "Evergrande Founder's Wealth Plunges to New Low as Woes Mount". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
5. ^ Wang, Jennifer. "The 10 Richest Chinese Billionaires In 2020". Forbes. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
6. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 1.
7. ^ Southern Metropolis Weekly (6 November 2013). 解密许家印：开过拖拉机掏过粪 婚姻被赞模范. qq.com (in Chinese).
8. ^ Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 2.
9. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 13.
10. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 14.
11. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 21.
12. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 42.
13. 许家印舞钢前传：重视工人福利 铁腕管理上班睡觉. 163.com (in Chinese). 7 November 2013.
14. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 43.
15. ^ Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 51.
16. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 53.
17. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 56.
18. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 66.
19. "A hot night in the Chinese Super League with Guangzhou Evergrande, 'the world's richest football club","www.independent.co.uk"
20. Wang, Yue. "Asia's Former Richest Man Sees Wealth Drop $12 Billion Amid Coronavirus Outbreak". Forbes. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
21. ^ Zhu, Julie; Jim, Clare (16 November 2021). "Evergrande chief's luxury assets in focus as his company scrambles to pay debts". Reuters. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
22. "Bloomberg Billionaires Index". www.bloomberg.com.
23. Feng, Venus (16 December 2021). "Evergrande Boss Leads $46 Billion in Lost Wealth for China's Property Tycoons". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
24. Why a Chinese billionaire is selling the most expensive home in the UK, SCMP, 12 October, 2022
25. "China Evergrande chairman under scrutiny on suspicion of illegal crimes". Reuters. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
26. Elaine Kurtenbach (19 March 2024). "China accuses property developer Evergrande and founder of £60bn fraud". The Independent. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
27. "Evergrande Billionaire Snubbed by China's Communist Party Elite". Bloomberg News. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
28. Guo Hongwen & Xu Yahui (2017), p. 39.

• 1958 births
• Living people
• Businesspeople from Henan
• Chinese billionaires
• Chinese company founders
• Chinese corporate directors
• Chinese football chairmen and investors
• Chinese businesspeople in real estate
• Members of the Standing Committee of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
• Members of the Standing Committee of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
• Members of the Standing Committee of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
• People from Taikang County
• Real estate company founders
• Wuhan University of Science and Technology alumni