A rumored raid.
Recently, it has been rumored that Yingke Group (hereinafter referred to as "Yingke Development"), owned by Li Zekai, the second son of Li Ka-shing, the richest man in Hong Kong, is considering a majority stake in its asset management company Pine Bridge (Pinebridge Investment), thereby affecting its joint venture companies in the mainland, causing market concern.
According to the China Banking and Insurance News, in this regard, the relevant person in charge of Yingke Development said that any adjustment of the group's global business is to hope to better allocate funds to invest in better quality industries, especially focusing on related areas in the mainland. Li Zekai, chairman of the group, also said that in the future, it is necessary to actively and continuously invest in the mainland market.
For the rumors of the above project**, the focus of market attention is whether the transaction will involve the joint venture public offering of Berry Investment in the mainland - Huatai Berry. A spokesman for Pacific Century Development Group said that the ** project does not involve Huatai Berry**, and Li Zekai promised to continue to invest in the mainland.
It is worth mentioning that Huatai Berry is a public offering giant. According to its official website, Huatai Berry was established on November 18, 2004, with 49% of the shares held by Huatai ** and Berry Investment, and 2% of the shares held by Suzhou New Area High-tech Industry Co., Ltd., and by the end of 2023, the scale of Huatai Berry's non-cargo management reached 28637.4 billion yuan.
Li Zekai clarified.
Recently, there have been rumors that Li Zekai's Yingke Development is considering a majority stake in its asset management company Berry Investment, which will affect its joint ventures in the mainland, causing market concern.
It is rumored that Pacific Century has hired JPMorgan Chase to take charge of the sales process and has held preliminary discussions with a number of financial institutions.
On February 7, according to the China Banking and Insurance News, in response to the above rumors, the relevant person in charge of Yingke Development said that any adjustment of the group's global business is to better allocate funds to invest in better industries, especially focusing on related areas in the mainland. For example, the Group will continue to actively explore and explore investment in sectors such as insurance and technology in the Mainland.
Li Zekai, chairman of the group, also said that in the future, it is necessary to actively and continuously invest in the mainland market.
Pacific Century will not only expand the Mainland business of Berry Investment, but will continue to strengthen cooperation with other shareholders to fully support the company's development in a more comprehensive and stable direction. The person in charge said that the performance of Berry Investment in the mainland is outstanding, and Yingke Development and the other two mainland shareholders have maintained tacit cooperation for a long time.
It is reported that Pinebridge Investment, formerly the asset management business unit of American International Group (AIG), was acquired by Pacific Century Development in 2010 and has been operating ever since.
According to the official website of Berry Investment, as of September 30, 2023, Berry's assets under management worldwide reached 148.5 billion US dollars (about 1.5 billion yuan.)1 trillion yuan). Currently, Pinebridge Investments has more than 700 employees in 25 offices around the world, including 230 investment specialists.
In terms of performance, Pinebridge Investments incurred a loss of $78 million in 2022, while in 2021 it achieved a profit of $15 million.
According to the company's official website, 60% of the portfolio of Berry Investment is concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, which is affected by factors such as rising interest rates and external bearishness, and the ** of this part of the asset has fluctuated to a certain extent.
Involving public offering giants.
Regarding the rumors of the above project**, another focus of market attention is whether the transaction will involve the joint venture public offering ** Huatai Berry of Berry Investment in Chinese mainland.
A spokesman for Pacific Century Development Group said that the ** project does not involve the joint venture project between Berry and Huatai**, namely Huatai Berry**, and Li Zekai promised to continue to invest in the mainland.
In the context of the new era, Mr. Li Zekai is firmly optimistic about China's economy and promises to invest in China for a long time and continuously. The relevant person in charge of Yingke Development said that the company firmly believes in the resilience and potential of China's economy, and is also full of confidence in the future of Huatai Berry.
According to the official website, Huatai Bairui was established on November 18, 2004, and is a Sino-foreign joint venture management company established earlier in the public offering, with Huatai and Bairui Investment holding 49% of the shares respectively, and Suzhou New District High-tech Industry Co., Ltd. holding 2% of the shares.
From the perspective of equity change, the predecessor of Berry Investment, AIG Global Investment Corp., a U.S.-funded insurance companyIn 2010, after the acquisition of AIGGIC, Yingke changed its name to Berry Investment, and Huatai Berry** also changed its name to the current Huatai Berry ** from the former "AIA Huatai**".
Huatai Berry mainly sells ETF products, Huatai Berry CSI 300 ETF management scale exceeded 100 billion in August last year, becoming the first ETF with a scale of more than 100 billion in the A** field, and it is also a product with more inflow of funds in the recent future, as of now, the management scale has reached 1310$8.7 billion.
Benefiting from the layout of ETFs, Huatai Berry's management scale will continue to grow in 2023, and by the end of 2023, Huatai Berry's non-cargo management scale will reach 28637.4 billion yuan, ranking 18th in the whole market. From 2013 to 2022, its public offering products have earned a cumulative profit of more than 50 billion yuan for holders, making it one of the five companies with the largest number of equity holdings in the whole market.
Judging from the performance of Huatai Berry in recent years, the profit performance is good. The data shows that from 2020 to 2022, Huatai Berry's net profit will be 27.1 billion yuan, 41.3 billion yuan, 37.9 billion yuan.
It is reported that at present, Huatai Berry has also applied for the establishment of a Hong Kong subsidiary and is waiting for regulatory approval.
Little Superman" Li Zekai.
The news of this project once again pushed Li Zekai, a prominent figure in the Hong Kong business community, to the forefront.
As the second son of Li Ka-shing, the richest man in Hong Kong, China, Li Zekai is known for his investment characteristics such as boldness, rebellion, and decisiveness, and is known as "Little Superman" by the market.
In 1991, Li Zekai left Hutchison Whampoa and founded Star TV, Asia's first satellite transmission cable TV service company, and just two years later, Star TV covered 50 countries and regions around the world, and the number of viewers reached 2200 million people.
In 1993, Li Zekai gave Star TV to media tycoon Murdoch for about $1 billion, earning the first pot of gold in his life.
Relying on this funding, Li Zekai founded Yingke Group and officially parted ways with Li Ka-shing's family business.
In 1999, Pacific Century Group became the eighth largest company in Hong Kong by the end of the year, riding the wave of the Internet. Li Zekai's worth also rose with the company's stock price, and he once became the second richest person in Hong Kong after Li Ka-shing.
In 2000, Pacific Century Group acquired Hong Kong Telecom, which became the largest merger and acquisition case in Asia at that time, which can be called the highlight of Li Zekai's life.
In the year of the acquisition of Hong Kong Telecom, Li Zekai was only 34 years old. Young, bold, and rebellious have become the labels on Li Zekai. The American magazine "Wired" once commented: Perhaps history will prove that Li Zekai is the most subversive and influential person in Asia in the 21 st century.
Since then, Yingke has continued to expand itself through mergers and acquisitions, and can even regard its development history as a history of mergers and acquisitions.
At present, Pacific Century Telecom, a subsidiary of Pacific Century Development, has become a traditional industry in the technology industry, while finance and real estate have become one of the largest business segments of the group. Some commentators said that Li Zekai, a rebel in the past, seems to have returned to his family's old business.