Economy

The horse-trading businessman

By Bao Chang (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-26 10:00

"With the development of my ranch, we are eager to import more thoroughbred horses from abroad," Chu said.

As the number of privately-owned horses increase, owners have been forming clubs to socialize and share their shared pleasure. Currently, there are nearly 200 in China, mostly in the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan triangle, the northeast, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and Sichuan.

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Beijing Yanlong said that the new enthusiasm for breeding horses will mean that horse imports will double this year and keep increasing in the future. At present, 70 percent of the company's revenues are from horse trading.

According to the China Horse Industry Association, in April alone more than 120 horses were purchased from the US by five Chinese horse-buying groups. In the first half of 2010, racecourses, clubs and individuals from Sichuan, Xinjiang, Beijing and Jilin bought large number of horses from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Japan.

Australia and the US are the most popular sources for Chinese buyers. Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Central Asia, Japan and Russia have also emerged as important suppliers for Chinese buyers.

The rise in demand for horse-trading has also attracted the attention of overseas horse dealers. Since 2008, more forward-looking investors have joined in the Chinese horse market. Dubai Tianjin Horse City, Chabei Zhangjiakou Racecourse, Chengdu Golden Equestrian Park and Hainan Racecourse have received foreign investments of between 100 million and 10 billion yuan over the past two years.