Background
Guo Guangchang, a native of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province, was born in 1967.
广昌 郭
Guo Guangchang, a native of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province, was born in 1967.
He holds a bachelors degree in philosophy along with an MBA from Fudan University.
In 1992, Guo set up Guangxin Science and Technology Consulting Company with four friends and an investment of US$4500. They developed a medical product that tested for hepatitis A and made their first US$100 000 by direct marketing. Guangxin has since been renamed Fuxing (or Fosun in English), and the business has expanded to include real estate, pharmaceuticals, retailing, information, emerging software, steel and sports industries. However, the group’s business can be divided into three main branches: stock market investments, industry operations, and venture capital investments. Guo describes his own business philosophy as a model that incorporates portfolio investments in other firms and capital investment in its own operations. Venture capital is the cornerstone of Fuxing Group’s business.
Guo has been active in many social organizations, including the China Young Entrepreneurs Association and the Shanghai Youth Federation. He was named as Shanghai’s model worker in 1997 and honored by CCTV among the top ten business personalities of the year in 2004. Guo believes it is impossible to avoid politics when running a large enterprise in China, and he has been a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and is also a delegate to the NPC, the latter giving him a more active and direct involvement in the legislation governing businesses in China. He sees his participation in politics not only as bringing trust to his enterprise but also as being helpful to enterprise operations.
Confidence in Guo’s business prowess is confirmed by the oversubscription of its shares on its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007 and the reported, though unconfirmed, investment of the legendary Li Ka Shing in the company. The principal executives of the group are still the same founding members with similar backgrounds, making communication with the management team easy and running the organization as a ‘quasi-family business.’ In 2005, Guo was ranked number seven among the 400 richest Chinese by Forbes, with a net worth of US$1.09 billion.