Fosun International Limited is a Chinese multinationalconglomerateholding company.[4] Founded in 1992 by Guo Guangchang and four others, the company is headquartered in Shanghai and was incorporated in Hong Kong in 2004. Its Co-CEOs are Chen Qiyu and Xu Xiaoliang. Wang Qunbin joined Guo Guangchang as co-chairman in early 2020.[5] The company is located in 16 countries and is one of the largest privately owned conglomerates in China. It was ranked 371st on the Forbes Global 2000 ranking in 2020.[6]
In 2004, a new holding company of the group, Fosun International Limited was incorporated in Hong Kong. In July 2007, Fosun International was listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong as SEHK:656.[19][20]
2010s
During 2011, the three major growth engines of Fosun, industrial profits, investment profits and asset management profits rose rapidly, enabling Fosun to make strides toward its vision of becoming "a premium investment group with a focus on China's growth momentum".[21]
From 2010 through 2015, Fosun spent billions buying foreign firms in the healthcare, tourism, fashion, and banking industries in the US and Europe. These included France's Club Med, Britain's Thomas Cook Group,[22] Canada's Cirque du Soleil,[23] American clothing label St John, and Greek jeweler Folli Follie.[24][25] At the end of 2014 Fosun acquired the US insurer Meadowbrook for around $433 million, marking the first full purchase of a US insurer by a Chinese company.[26] Fosun also purchased Australian oil company Roc Oil, its first acquisition in the petroleum industry.[27]
On 11 December 2015, the chairman of Fosun, Guo Guangchang, was reported missing. Guo however reappeared on 14 December 2015 at a Fosun board of directors meeting. During his disappearance, Fosun requested that trading of shares be temporarily suspended.[28] The Fosun board of directors issued a statement saying that Guo was assisting in a government inquiry which, in their opinion, did not present a “material adverse impact” on Fosun's finances or operations.[29]
In 2016 Fosun began to invest in India.[33]Delhivery was one such investment made in 2017,[34] in addition to previous investments in MakeMyTrip, India's largest online travel company and Gland Pharma.[35] Fosun is also involved in the Indian real estate market.[36]
On 28 August 2019, Thomas Cook Group announced that the group "had agreed the main terms of a rescue package that will see Hong Kong’s Fosun Tourism take over its tour operations and creditor banks and bondholders acquire its airline"[37] In early November 2019, Fosun said it would purchase the Thomas Cook brand for £11m. The company viewed itself as a "potential saviour" by purchasing the name.[38]
2020s
In March 2020, the company acquired a 55.4% equity interest in French jewelry brand Djula.[39] They also signed an agreement in July 2020 with a high-end Italian jewelry group to develop the Damiani and Salvini brands in China.[40] In August 2020 the company bought a 30% stake in Jinhui Liquor for $262 million.[41]
In 2022, after has been severely hit by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and China's extreme lockdown policies, the Shanghai-based conglomerate divested many of its key assets to avoid defaulting on its short-term debts. By October 2022, Fosun announced that it would sell as much as $11 billion of assets within the next 12 months, amid efforts to bolster both its balance sheet and investor confidence.[42]
During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, Fosun Pharmaceuticals partnered with German biotech firm Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech)[43] to produce and distribute the COVID-19mRNA vaccineBNT162b2. Once approved, Fosun will market the vaccine in China, and BioNTech will retain the rights to sell it internationally.[44][45][46]
Fosun was part of an alliance of Chinese companies that donated medical supplies to 23 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.[47]
In March 2020, Fosun brought medical supplies to Milan, Italy, including 5,500 protective suits and 40,000 N95 respirator masks together with the Longfor Group and Beijing Taikiang Yicai Foundation. This donation was in addition to 5,000 masks that had been donated to Milan's municipal government earlier by Fosun.[48]
Fosun launched the Global anti-Virus Relief Scheme which created a forum for China, the US, the UK, and Portugal to share information and experience about COVID-19 in early March 2020. Several companies have also joined the effort, including Baidu, New Oriental, Xiaomi and Sequoia Capital. Fosun has distributed close to 4 million units of medical supplies around the world, including surgical masks, protective suits, and diagnostic reagents.[49]
Fosun donated medical protection supplies to South Korea in two shipments in March, 36,000 early in the month and additional 22,000 later in the month.[50] The company also donated supplies to the UK, Japan[51] and India.[52]
At the end of March 2020, the Chinese National Medical Products Administration gave Fosun Pharmaceutical emergency approval for the use of a novel coronavirus nucleic acid detection kit that it developed.[53][54]
Fosun delivered medical supplies in several shipments during March 2020 to the city of Wolverhampton, UK, the home of the Wolves football team, which is owned by Fosun.[57]
The company donated N95 masks to New York's NYU Langone Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital as well as similar donations to hospitals in Chicago, Boston, New Jersey, California and elsewhere in the United States.[58][59] The Coalition of Asian-American IPA (CAIPA) accepted 7,000 N95 masks from Fosun, and then distributed them to hospitals throughout the New York area during March 2020.[60]
Business structure
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Fosun has a wide array of business activities, including investing in other firms, managing a number of private equity funds, and entering joint ventures.
Equity investments
Fosun has invested in a number of businesses throughout different sectors, such as asset management, insurance, and industrial operations.
The major shareholder of Fosun International was a Hong Kong incorporated company Fosun Holdings,[62] which was a wholly owned subsidiary of British Virgin Islands incorporated company Fosun International Holdings. Three founders of Fosun International, Guo Guangchang, Liang Xinjun and Wang Qunbin, owned 64.45%, 24.44% and 11.11% respectively in Fosun International Holdings.[62]Fan Wei, another founder, withdrew his stake in Fosun International Holdings in September 2015.[62]
^"Thomas Cook brand sold to Club Med owner Fosun for £11m". BBC News. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019. He said: "The acquisition of the Thomas Cook brand will enable the group to expand its tourism business building on the extensive brand awareness of Thomas Cook and the robust growth momentum of Chinese outbound tourism."
US$25.4 billion[1][2] (2021)