On Wednesday, the China Chopsticks Business Group held its annual luncheon at the Alvisse Parc Hotel in Luxembourg-Dommeldange.
Guest speaker Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report which details Chinese wealth, addressed the group on the topic "China Entrepreneurs Go Global. How to Stay Relevant to China in 2017". This past year has seen a plethora of Chinese investments into Europe and beyond, led by Wanda, Fosun, Alibaba and Midea. He highlighted the trends behind the growing visibility of the Chinese businessman in Europe, identifying the people behind these powerhouses and what is driving this expansion.
Francis Hoogewerf welcomed the 80-strong attendance and introduced the guest speaker whom he said was born in Luxembourg and lives and works in China, speaking five languages. He works on publications on fine art, wealthy Chinese, polo and others.
Rupert Hoogewerf talked about the rise of the millennials generation. He recalled going to a province outside Shanghai where the property prices have risen by 50% in the past year; his subsequent research showed that the top 10 cities for property price rises have been in China, with Vancouver the 11th. He explained that the Chinese are investing in property on a large scale.
Another anecdote involved travel by planes and trains, with tourist destinations and super-fast trains developing at a rapid pace. And he also talked about the Mo-Bike in Beijing - like Luxembourg's Vel'Oh - which has gone "completely viral" and do not need parking spaces - he expects this concept to go global.
He referred to yesterday's news of a Chinese billionaire, owner of the Tomorrow Group, going missing while in Hong Kong...
He explained that the Rich List he publishes is only the tip of the iceberg, with so many very rich Chinese not yet identified.
Another rich Chinese reacted to US President Donald Trump's recent statement on taxes on Chinese imports, by reminding the Americans that he employs 20,000 American workers in the US alone.
The Chinese believe that, in 10 years' time, the Chinese economy will overtake substantially that of the US. China has 20% of the world's population, but 34% of billionaires are from China, overtaking the US. Mainland China now has 594 billionaires, many of whom are in the public eye due to their philanthropic activities.
Due to the RMB falling against the USD, many of the Chinese rich are buying property abroad, mainly in the US as well as in Canada, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand - this could start to effect Europe too, with Britain the obvious target.
He also explained that many Chinese are now educating their children abroad, and enjoying foreign holidays; many are also caught with a current jogging craze. Retirement planning is now starting to be a big problem in China, with senior living communities being built at a massive scale.
Photo: Rupert Hoogewerf
