Rong Zhijian
Rong Zhijian (born January 17, 1942), known as "Rong Crown Prince" and "Rong Chairman", is a Chinese entrepreneur from Wuxi, Jiangsu, born in Shanghai. He is the son of former Vice President of the People's Republic of China Rong Yiren and a member of the Rong Xitai family. He was the former chairman of CITIC Pacific, a listed company in Hong Kong. The Rong family's flagship Longyuan Enterprises holds a luxury residential site in Hainan Province named "Longyuan Shenzhou Peninsula", with a total gross floor area of 704,000 square meters. In 2014, CITIC Pacific leveraged Rong Zhijian’s vast financial and political connections to attract 10 investors, including Tencent’s fund, Chow Tai Fook, two companies from the Kuok family, mainland listed companies Oceanwide and Youngor, and the American hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital. The investment amounts ranged from HKD 232 million to HKD 775 million.[1]
Biography
Rong Zhijian was born on January 31, 1942, in Shanghai. He graduated from Nanyang Model High School in 1959 and from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tianjin University in 1965. During the Cultural Revolution in 1966, he was sent down to Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan. He later worked at the Ministry of Electric Power of China for 14 years. In 1978, he moved to Hong Kong, and in 1987 joined the Hong Kong branch of China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC Hong Kong). Starting in 1990, he served as director, later as vice chairman and managing director of CITIC Pacific, as well as executive director of CITIC Group and eventually chairman of CITIC Pacific. He was ranked No.1 on the Hurun Power List for five consecutive years (2003–2007).
In 1988, Rong was appointed as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He established education funds at various universities in mainland China and Stanford University in the US. He also received an honorary professorship from Tianjin University and an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.[2]
In 1995, Rong became the first Chinese chairman of the Hong Kong Golf Club.
In 2009, the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police raided the CITIC Pacific headquarters to investigate the 2008 losses from foreign exchange accumulator contracts involving the Australian dollar. The case involved HKD 14.7 billion in losses. However, it was later confirmed that no wrongdoing occurred and no compensation was required for minority shareholders. Rong and managing director Fan Hung-ling subsequently resigned, and the chairman position was taken over by Chang Zhenming, vice chairman of CITIC Group.[3][4][5][6][7]
Horses
Rong Zhijian is an avid horse racing enthusiast and served as a director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club from 1994 until the early 2000s. In 1993, he purchased "Tianhuang" for over HKD 1 million and subsequently owned many horses, including Gallant, Olympic Spirit, Mr. Vitality, among others, winning numerous titles and the Hong Kong Horse of the Year.
His current horses include Star Express, Brave Express, Divine Gallop, and Green Gallop. His retired horses include Tianhuang, Mr. Vitality, Gallant, Olympic Spirit, and others such as Chuang Guandong, Flying Sword, The Boss, Golden Dart, Kunlun, Radiance, Magician, Long March, Lucky, Onward, Moon Gallop, Shadow, Dragon, Divine Horse, Oriental Express, Southern Express, Western Express, Northern Express, Global Link, Divine Master, Bold Venture, Lucky Express, Silver Gallop, Surprise, Golden Gallop (personally owned), Vital Gallop, and Comeback (registered under trainer John Moore's stable).
His children Rong Mingfang (also known as Rong Lifang) and Rong Mingdi also own horses, including Carefree Sect, Wisdom, Swordsman, Swift Steed, Child of Fortune, Radiant Horse. Rong Zhijian, Rong Lifang, and Rong Mingdi are all co-owners of the horse "Iron Man" under John Moore’s 2022/23 stable.
References
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A6%AE%E6%99%BA%E5%81%A5#cite_ref-1
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A6%AE%E6%99%BA%E5%81%A5#cite_ref-2
- ↑ CITIC Pacific Chairman Rong Zhijian Resigns
- ↑ CITIC Pacific: Rong Zhijian and Fan Hung-ling Resign, Effective Today
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A6%AE%E6%99%BA%E5%81%A5#cite_ref-5
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A6%AE%E6%99%BA%E5%81%A5#cite_ref-6
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A6%AE%E6%99%BA%E5%81%A5#cite_ref-7
External links
- People with surname Rong
- People from Wuxi
- Rong Xitai family
- Businesspeople turned politicians
- Entrepreneurs from Shanghai
- Hong Kong businesspeople
- Horse owners and breeders in Hong Kong
- Tianjin University alumni
- People from CITIC Group
- CPPCC members from Hong Kong
- Members of the 7th CPPCC
- Members of the 8th CPPCC
- Members of the 9th CPPCC
- Members of the 10th CPPCC
- Members of the 11th CPPCC
- Honorary doctors of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- Alumni of Nanyang Model High School in Shanghai