Chinese superrich have been on the rise since Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group raised a record $21.8 billion in its initial public offering last September and set the world abuzz.
From technology to real estate, the newly emerging Chinese superrich have been eyeing the Korean market, looking for ways to expand their businesses.
Ma Huateng, founder of Internet service company Tencent, recently joined forces with Hana Financial Group with the aim of introducing the mobile payment system Tenpay in Korea. Tenpay holds the second-largest market share for online payments in China, followed by Alibaba Group’s Alipay.
Ma Huateng / Tencent. (Bloomberg)
Ma also invested 72 billion won ($65 million) in KakaoTalk in 2012, becoming the third-largest shareholder for Daum Kakao, which holds Korea’s largest mobile gaming platform. He is also the third-largest shareholder in game company Netmarble, which may give him some influence over the Korean game industry in the near future.
Chinese superrich are also stepping into the entertainment industry. Fu Meicheng, president of Huace Film & TV, is one of the most influential media moguls in China and ranks as the country’s 71st-richest man. Forbes estimated his total assets to be $1.6 billion.
Fu recently invested 53.5 billion won in the film company NEW (which produced the 2013 film “The Attorney”), becoming its second-largest shareholder. Huace Media also recently coproduced the popular drama “Kill Me, Heal Me” with Korea’s Pan Entertainment.
Another person involved in the entertainment industry is Charles Zhang, founder of Internet company Sohu. Zhang, one of China’s “New Rich” and selected by Forbes as one of China’s richest in 2010 with assets of $700 million at the time, invested 15 billion won and become the second-largest shareholder in entertainment agency KEYEAST, home to Hallyu stars Bae Yong-joon and Kim Soo-hyun.
Charles Zhang / Sohu. (Bloomberg)
The Chinese superrich have also turned their attention to Korean real estate. Zhang Yuliang, president of Greenland Holding Group, has been developing a 1 trillion won health care town in Seogwipo City, Jejudo Island, since November 2011.
Zhang also took over the multicomplex Dream Tower project in Nohyeong-dong, Jeju City ― which had been stalled for over 30 years ― and announced an additional $600 million investment on the island.
Last July, around 250 Chinese millionaires visited Korea along with Chinese President Xi Jinping, showing clear interest in the Korean market. Multiple Chinese business tycoons have also said they hope to make their businesses as influential worldwide as Samsung and other Korean companies.
With the Korea-China FTA, it appears that Chinese superrich will enter the Korean market to test their luck at a greater speed with their immense capital and experience serving a domestic market of 1.3 billion people.
By The Korea Herald Superrich Team (sangyj@heraldcorp.com)
Kwon Nam-keun, Hong Seung-wan, Sung Yeon-jin, Bae Ji-sook, Yoon Hyun-jong Min Sang-seek, Kim Hyun-il, Sang Youn-joo