Chinese tycoon funds fight against poverty

The founder of Midea Group donates nearly $1 billion to promote projects

A Chinese billionaire businessman plans to donate 6 billion yuan ($892.7 million) to support charities and help combat poverty by promoting nationwide projects.

He Xiangjian, founder of Midea Group, will place 100 million privately owned shares, worth about 4 billion yuan, into a fund, as well as 2 billion yuan in cash.

"The donation plan will meet charity demands from all sectors of life," said Wang Yueyun, secretary-general of the He Foundation, which was set up nearly four years ago.

At age 75, He is one of the elder statesmen of the business world after starting up a small plastics factory in 1968 in the Shunde district of Foshan in Guangdong province.

By 1980, he started manufacturing electric fans and 13 years later Midea went public with a listing in Shenzhen after growing into a major electrical appliance maker.

The group generates annual global revenue of more than $22 billion, according to the company's website. It also employs approximately 100,000 staff in China and abroad at 21 manufacturing plants and 260 logistics centers. In 2012, He stepped down as chairman of Midea and a year later he was included in Forbes list of China's top 10 richest people.

Since then, he has spent a great deal of his time involved in charities.

This latest fund will be used to ease poverty nationwide, and address issues such as education, health care, elderly care, entrepreneurship and cultural heritage.

The 100 million Midea shares will be placed in a charitable trust and used for "philanthropic purposes," the company revealed.

At the end of last week, the group's stock price was 40.8 yuan, when the fund was officially announced at a ceremony in Foshan in July.

Nearly four years ago, He set up a foundation, which focused on education, elderly care, sport, culture and arts.

Poverty relief was also a pillar of the charity, as well as environmental protection.

"It took three years to prepare for," Wang, of He Foundation, said. "He wanted to have a long-term plan in charity funding."

Up to 2 billion yuan has already been donated by the He Foundation to community programs across the country.

"These covered schools, communities and society as a whole," Wang said.

A growing number of China's super rich are heavily involved in charitable work, especially in projects that have been rolled out to fight poverty in rural regions.

Pony Ma, chief executive officer and co-founder of China's internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, donated up to 100 million privately held shares of the group to a fund in 2016.

Last year, he also pledged to put 2 percent of the company's annual profits in charitable programs.

qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn