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Mr. Fang, Banking on Billions
Mr. Fang’s story of poverty to posh is a relatively common one in China, but does entail an interesting twist. He began as a lowly bank clerk at one of the state-run financial institutions, and with skill and savvy, moved up to accounts manager, then eventually to a front office position. As his position rose, so did his network of contacts, and desire to strike out on his own. After a couple decades of eating out of the “iron rice bowl”, the quickly becoming outdated expression for steady, life-long employment at a government- owned enterprise, he began looking at ways to turn his knowledge of the real estate development sector into profits for his own new company.
Buoyed by the budding upscale housing market in Chengdu, he licked his chops some prime location property right downtown which had been the home of some old run down apartments and shops. I am not sure how he got them to move, but there likely was a small compensation package prepared for them. His dream project is a modern urban complex, a twin tower facility complete with a 5 star hotel, high-en shopping arcade, exclusive condominiums, and plush office units. He wasted no time seeking financing for the project from his former colleagues in banking, and architects for work on the design. His business proposal was well regarded by the local officials, and construction began. When you stroll past the glass monoliths now, there is a big sign in Chinese that it is “100% financed by Canadian investors”, and this seems to be a marketing ploy more than anything. Mr. Fang believes that businesses, boutiques, and private home owners would feel more assured of better quality and management if it was a Canadian enterprise. While Mr. Fang has been in and out of Canada for many years, he has yet to become even a landed immigrant. He has set up a small office for his interests in Ottawa, but it is obvious that various Chengdu banks are responsible for the vast majority, if not all, of the start up costs. And it is no small amount, well over $20 million US he claims. He told me his long term profit margin is $30 percent annually, and the value of the property will do nothing but appreciate over time.
I have not been up to see it yet, but his custom-built penthouse suite in Tower A I heard will be lavish, housing a large swimming pool with a sunroof, and over 300 sq. metres of living space. Not bad, especially when you don’t have to pay for it yourself! I will be following his exploits in the future, and will be very interested to see how things develop for him.
last modified Aug 19, 2004 at 8:20
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