Gui Shengyue, chief executive officer of Geely Automobile Holdings, says learning the world's latest technology through mergers and acquisitions is key to keeping Geely's continued growth. [Parker Zheng / China Daily] Most people won't dispute it's the courage and aspirations of founder Li Shufu that have helped shape the group's growth, while paying scant attention to the rigor and pragmatism of Gui Shengyue. Gui was named chief executive officer of Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile Holdings in 2006 after having been tapped by Li in the 1990s well before Geely ventured into the auto industry. Li and Gui, who are of the same age and natives of Zhejiang province in eastern China, struck up a solid relationship despite their different backgrounds. Li had started from scratch, while Gui was recommended by Beijing to work in State-owned China Resources (Holdings) Company in Hong Kong. Gui reckons it's China Resources' standardized management and regulations that have shaped his business philosophy. Discipline and legality are important in such a large corporation. This has influenced me a lot and made me more practical. He was a key witness to Geely's Automobile's development over the years, purchasing spare parts for the group and feeding it with global market information from Hong Kong. After having worked in Hong Kong for years, Gui has grown accustomed to the local business environment. I came to Hong Kong just after graduating from university in 1986. It enabled me to get some understanding of business rivalry in a regulated market in my early years, says Gui. Geely grew rapidly and became one of China's top 500 enterprises in 2002. Its speedy expansion had put pressure on the company's cash flow because of its huge sales target and high production investment. This accelerated Geely's desire to seek opportunities by going public. With Gui's help in building the company's structure, Geely was successfully listed on Hong Kong's stock market through a back-door listing in 2005. The initial public offering eased Geely's capital pressure and created the path for it to climb onto the world arena. Having been appointed to the helm of the Hong Kong unit, Gui believes a successful leader has to be good at controlling the whole situation and capable of making critical decisions. Although critical decisions may involve risks, a leader has to conquer them, and adopting a conservative approach won't bring the results, he says. Thus, I believe, to a certain extent, all the M&As are linked to the existence of our listed company here in Hong Kong. We may not play a critical role but we do have some impact for sure. Geely's shares had been on a roll since the unit's flotation in Hong Kong and the company becoming a constituent of the Hang Seng Index early last year, ending 2017 with its share price tripled. children in need wristbandprinted wristbandsrubber wristbands custom cheap24hr wristbandblack rubber wristbands
WANG WENJIN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE More than 80 people with the surname Zhang traveled from Taiwan to Xiamen, Fujian, in August to discover their roots. People are studying their family trees and age-old stories in the hope of reconnecting with long-lost relatives. Zhang Yi reports from Xiamen, Fujian. On June 9, Huang Ching-hsiung woke at about 3 am in his hotel bed in Xiamen, Fujian province. He was too excited to sleep. At daybreak, he was one of a group of 11 members of his family that set out to visit Pujin, a village two hours from downtown Xiamen by road. The settlement has the same name as Huang's home village in Lugang town, Changhua, Taiwan, and most of the residents are named Huang. The Huangs on Taiwan are direct descendents of settlers who arrived on the island centuries ago. Several batches of Fujian residents moved to Taiwan during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in the hope of making their fortunes, and those who were members of the same family banded together as they fought to make new lives. They named the places they settled after their hometowns and retained the customs they had brought from the mainland. Roughly 80 percent of Taiwan residents share blood ties with people from Fujian. About 110 settlements on either side of the Taiwan Straits that share the same village and family names have established official exchange programs, according to the Fujian-Taiwan Compatriots' Association. In the 1980s, the descendants of those early settlers started visiting the mainland to discover their roots, inspired by family histories passed down through generations. Place your feet on the land our ancestors came from, Huang's father told him, shortly before he died 12 years ago.
