Quick Facts
Biography
Xu Xiang (Chinese: 徐翔; pinyin: Xú Xiáng; born February 1977 in Ningbo, Zhejiang) is a former Chinese private placement investor and the General Manager of Zexi Investment (泽熙投资), a Chinese investment company. He has been called "China's Carl Icahn" and Chinese investors always call him "Big man of Private placement" (私募一哥). On November 1, 2015, Xu Xiang was arrested by the police due to insider trading.
Career
Early life
Xu Xiang was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang in 1977. In 1993, Xu skipped the university entrance exams and started investing in stocks, using money from his parents as initial capital at China Galaxy Securities trading hall on South Liberation Rd in Ningbo. He was the most prominent hedge fund investor in Zhejiang before 2000, with several hundred thousand yuan. In 2003, “Limit-up Kamikaze Squad” (涨停板敢死队) is reported by media in the first time, Xu Xiang renowned as the “captain of the Limit-up Kamikaze Squad (涨停板敢死队总舵主)”.
Shanghai career
Xu Xiang moved to Shanghai in 2005. According to Economic Information Daily (经济参考报), Xu arrived in office at 8.45am every day and often went to bed at around 2am. Studying stocks is his only hobby. He founded Zexi Investment in 2009 with 30 million yuan in registered capital. According to the official website of Zexi Investment, Zexi No. 1 Fund and the Zexi No. 3 Fund have gained about 3000% since 2010. Xu and his relatives have a combined fortune of US$2.2 billion.
In July 2011, Zexi Investment was investigated in rumor, but he denied illegal operations and the regulatory authorities investigated rumors. In 2015, he manipulated the stock market during the stock market crash in summer.
Arrest and trial
On November 1, 2015, Xu Xiang was arrested by the police due to insider trading. The highway patrol sealed off the 35.4 km Hangzhou Bay Bridge for more than 30 minutes. Xinhua News Agency, the official news agency in China released a brief statement after the arrest. At that day is Xu's grandmother's birthday, he rushed from Shanghai to Ningbo on the way, and arrested and sent to Beijing by the police. Some media reported and pointed Xu's arrest is linked to anti-corruption campaign.
On April 29, 2016, Xu was formally arrested on charges of manipulating the securities market and inside trading.
On January 23, 2017, Xu was sentenced to five and a half years in prison and fined 11 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion).
Family
Xu's father, Xu Boliang (徐柏良), was the legal representative of Zetian Investment. His mother, Zheng Suzhen (郑素贞), held some stocks. Her stocks were frozen until November 2017. Xu's family controlled Ningbo Zhongbai (宁波中百), a department store in China. His is married to Ying Ying (应莹).