Li Shufu

Li Shufu (simplified Chinese: 李书福; traditional Chinese: 李書福; pinyin: Lǐ Shūfú; born 25 June 1963) is a Chinese billionaire entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of Geely.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Li.

Li Shufu
李书福
Born (1963-06-25) 25 June 1963[1]
Taizhou, Zhejiang, China
EducationYanshan University
Occupation
  • Entrepreneur
Years active1986–present
OrganizationChinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Title
SpouseWang Li (王丽)[2]
Children2

Early life

Li Shufu was born in Taizhou, Zhejiang. He has a master's degree from Yanshan University.

Career

Li founded Geely in November 1986, now the second-largest private automobile manufacturer in China.[3]

On 28 March 2010, Geely signed a deal worth US$1.8 billion to buy Swedish automobile manufacturer Volvo Cars from American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company.[4] It was the largest foreign purchase by a Chinese car manufacturer. Along with $900m of working capital from Geely and a commitment to build a Volvo factory in China, Li had a target of driving sales to 600,000 by 2015 in the domestic market.[5]

In 2013, Hurun Report ranked Li the 63rd richest person in mainland China, with a net worth of US$2.6 billion.[6]

Li announced in November 2018 that he has entered into an agreement with the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. to build a new line of supersonic bullet trains. The plan is for the trains to run using newly developed technology. Li said, "Core technology can't be bought. The more you use others' technology, the more reliant you become. We have to innovate on our own. The journey will be tough but the prospects are promising."[7]

In 2018, according to the Financial Times, Li has become Daimler's largest shareholder, with a 9.7% stake in the German automaker.[8]

In March 2020, Li was in talks with Volvo Cars to merge with Geely in his move to create a global automaker. Both Volvo and Geely are owned by Li's investment fund Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, but are being operated as separate entities.[9]

In September 2022, Shufu's group acquired a 7.6% stake in Aston Martin.[10]

Political life

Li is a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).[11] Li served as an independent non-party affiliated delegate to the 13th National People's Congress,[12] as one of the 94 delegates from Zhejiang.[13]

Economic views

Li has criticized the automotive industry joint venture system in China as producing large profits for foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 suppliers at the expense of innovation, quality, and technology advancement by Chinese automotive OEMs. According to Li, this has led to complacency by domestic automotive OEMs by relying on profits from foreign partners through joint ventures instead of driving their own organisations to hire talent and improve, knowing they would control half of joint ventures run with profitable overseas manufacturers that generate healthy sales. He has previously argued for state-owned automotive manufacturers to partner with privately run companies.[14]

Personal life

Li is married to Wang Li, (王丽)[15] and the family resides in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.[16]

References
  1. "沃尔沃李书福专访". People. China. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  2. "What's in a Name? A Lot If It Links a Billionaire to China's Xi". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  3. Bradsher, Keith (29 March 2010). "Ford Agrees to Sell Volvo to a Fast-Rising Chinese Company". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  4. "Volvo sale signed by Geely and Ford" (stm). BBC News. 28 March 2010. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  5. "China's lucky man bags Volvo". The Economist. 5 August 2010. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  6. "Li Shufu – Hurun report". Hurun Report. 2013. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015.
  7. Archer, Joseph (6 November 2018). "Chinese car billionaire signs deal to build 'supersonic' trains". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  8. Clover, Charles; McGee, Patrick; Campbell, Peter (28 February 2018). "Is Chinese state behind Geely's Daimler swoop?". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  9. Boston, William (10 February 2020). "Chinese Auto Tycoon Aims to Merge Volvo and Geely". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  10. Hotten, Russell. "Geely founder Li Shufu eyes bigger stake in struggling Aston Martin". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  11. "CPPCC members interviewed before annual session". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  12. "Geely Holding Chairman proposes reforms on Chinese automotive taxation and motorcycle regulations at annual legislative meetings". Automotive World. 22 May 2020. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. "浙江日报". zjrb.zjol.com.cn. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  14. Sharman, Andy (29 March 2015). "Geely chairman Li Shufu attacks Beijing strategy on car industry". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  15. "China's Geely 'corrects' rumors about presidential family ties". Reuters. 18 October 2018. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  16. "Forbes profile: Li Shufu". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
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