Hui Ka Yan

Hui Ka Yan (, or Xu Jiayin in Mandarin Chinese; born 9 October 1958) is a Chinese former billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of the board and Communist Party secretary of the Evergrande Group, a Chinese real estate developer. The Guangzhou-based company was China's biggest property developer in 2016, based on sales volume; revenue was 211.4 billion yuan (US$31.8 billion). In 2017, Evergrande Real Estate Group achieved sales of RMB 450 billion (US $69.5 billion). As of December 2021 Hui was the largest shareholder of Evergrande Group, holding nearly 60 percent of stock. In September 2023, Hui was arrested and under investigation for suspected illegal activity.

, Hui had an estimated net worth of $979 million according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, down from a peak of $45.3 billion in 2017. On March 19 2024, Hui was fined $6.5 million for his company´s $78 billion revenue overstatement and banned from China’s markets for life.

Early life and education
Hui Ka Yan was born from a rural family in Jutaigang Village, Gaoxian Township, Taikang County, Henan, on October 9, 1958. His father is a retired soldier who participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s and 1940s. After the establishment of the communist state, he became a warehouseman in his home village. Hui's mother died of sepsis when he was 8 months old. He was raised by his paternal grandmother. After high school he worked in a cement product factory for a few days and then worked for two years at home. He was the production team leader. After resuming the college entrance examination in 1978, Hui was accepted to Wuhan Institute of Iron and Steel (now Wuhan University of Science and Technology) serving as commissary in charge of hygiene in his class.

Business career
As a fresh graduate in 1982, Hui was assigned to the heat-treatment shop of Wuyang Iron and Steel Company, becoming its associate director in 1983 and director in 1985. Hui served as director for seven years there. After resigning in 1992, he moved to Shenzhen, the newly founded special economic zone in southeast China's Guangdong province. He was accepted by a trading company named Zhongda. One year later, he became president of its branch office, named Quanda. On October 1, 1994, Hui moved to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, to establish the Guangzhou Pengda Industrial Co., Ltd..

In May 1996, Hui Ka Yan, with a monthly salary of 2000 yuan, left the Zhongda Group after unsuccessful negotiation with the boss of this society.

In March 1997 he founded the Evergrande Group, becoming its chairman. Hui is the owner of Guangzhou Evergrande football club, one of China’s most successful football clubs.

At its peak of 2017, his fortune is thought to have been $45.3 billion, putting him third on Forbes' 2020 list of the richest Chinese billionaires. However, from 2017 to 2020 his wealth was estimated to have dropped by more than $20 billion to $21.8 billion due to mounting debts, which were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The Hurun China Rich List of October 2021 estimated his personal fortune to be around $11.3 billion in autumn 2021.

Evergrande liquidity crisis and resulting detention
In the context of the Evergrande liquidity crisis, his net worth had dropped to $6.2 billion by 13 December 2021, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, having lost $17.2 billion on the year, due partly to the sale of personal assets including his US$227-million mansion in London.

On 28 September 2023, Hui was detained by police and under investigation for suspected illegal activity. Trading in Evergrande shares was suspended. He lost his status as a billionaire in October 2023, when Bloomberg estimated his net worth to be $979 million. On March 19 2024, he was fined $6.5 million for his company´s $78 billion revenue overstatement and banned from China’s markets for life.

Political career
In 2008, Hui became a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, the top political advisory body in China. He was promoted to CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee in 2013, and actively participated in the conventions since then. He attended the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2021. In November 2022, he skipped a Standing Committee meeting due to the crisis at Evergrande, and was told not to attend the annual meeting of the CPPCC in March 2023.

Personal life
Hui married Ding Yumei, whom he met at the Wuyang Iron and Steel Company. The couple have two children and live in Guangzhou.