The Baoneng Group (legal name Baoneng Investment Group Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese property and financial services conglomerate controlled by Chinese billionaire Yao Zhenhua, China's 52nd-wealthiest person as of August 2020.

History

The first predecessor of Baoneng was established in 1992 when Yao Zhenhua, taking advantage of the Shopping Basket Programme, set up a vegetable supplying and selling operation in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major Sub-provincial division, sub-provincial city and one of the Special economic zones of China, special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pea ...

which became one of the largest Shenzhen providers. In 1997, the operation was incorporated as Shenzhen Xinbaokang Vegetable Industries Co., Ltd., later renamed as Shenzhen Xinbaokang Industrial Development Co., Ltd. before adopting its current name in 2000. In 2003, Baoneng took a majority stake in the state owned enterprise (SOE) Shum Yip Logistics, which led to Baoneng taking control of land and other properties, allowing it to gain an advantage on the expanding Chinese property market. In 2005, the company built Shenzhen Baoneng All City, a mix of residential and commercial facilities which became a success. By 2009 the company launched similar ventures throughout China, achieving a growth of about 30% annually for several years. In 2012, Baoneng Group set up Qian Hai Life Insurance Co., Ltd., entering into the finance business.

Failed Vanke takeover

In 2015, Baoneng, through its subsidiaries Shenzhen Jushenghua Corporation and Qian Hai Life Insurance, attempted an

hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

(although ''de facto'' state-controlled) rival Vanke. In July 2015, Baoneng acquired an initial 5% of Vanke, raising it to 15.25% by November, surpassing SOE

China Resources China Resources Holdings Company Limited (), or simply China Resources, is a Chinese state-owned conglomerate that owns a variety of businesses in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Some of its subsidiaries use the name in the form of the acronym CRC. ...

as the largest shareholder. On 11 December 2015, Baoneng had a 22.45% stake. Vanke chairman Wang Shi openly opposed the takeover, and in that month Vanke temporarily left the stock exchange to block Baoneng's continued stock acquisition, accusing it of obtaining funds through allegedly illicit methods. The

CSRC The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is a government ministry of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is the main regulator of the securities industry in China. History China's first Securities Law was ...

actioned against Baoneng, finally leading to the suspension of its insurance business, while Vanke retook its shares.

Operations

Financial services and property business

The Baoneng Group comprises about 40 companies in real estate, logistics, microfinance, education, healthcare. Baoneng has over 40 shopping malls in China.

Automotive business

In 2017, the Baoneng Group acquired a 63% controlling stake in the automobile maker Qoros.

Chery Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., trading as Chery and sometimes known by the pinyin transcription of its Chinese name, ''Qirui'' (), is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhu, Anhui, China. Founded in 1997, it is cur ...

took a 25% and Kenon Holdings the remaining 12%. That same year, the Baoneng Group set up the subsidiary Baoneng Motor to manage its automotive business. Baoneng launched projects to build new energy vehicle plants in Kunshan, Xixian,

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headqua ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, wh ...

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

, and

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

. In January 2020, the Baoneng Group agreed to acquire the assets of Changan PSA from stockholders Changan Auto and Groupe PSA through its wholly owned subsidiary Shenzhen Qianhai Ruizhi Investment. In May 2020, after the transaction was completed, Changan PSA was dissolved and its facilities renamed as Shenzhen Baoneng Motor Co.,Ltd. The vice president of the Baoneng Group, Sun Li, became the legal representative of the new company.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baoneng Group Real estate companies of China Companies based in Shenzhen