Fosun: Trade spat impact limited

Chairman makes remark as company posts high H1 profit, revenue growth

Although escalating trade tensions between the world's two largest economies have dimmed the global economic growth outlook, China will continue to move forward thanks to hardworking common people and private companies, said one of China's richest men and most active global dealmakers.

"The fundamental driving force for China's economic growth comes from the burning desire and unremitting efforts of the country's ordinary people and private enterprises to improve their lives," said Guo Guangchang, executive director and chairman of Fosun International Ltd, one of the largest private conglomerates on mainland.

"For China, the core issue under the shadow of the Sino-US trade skirmish is solving our own problems at home. China's economic development will not be stymied, which comes on the premise that we stick to and press ahead with the path of opening markets and other reforms that has lifted growth," Guo said.

He made the remarks at the company's interim results conference held in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

The Hong Kong-listed company booked net profit of 6.86 billion yuan ($1.01 billion) for the six months ended in June, up 17 percent year-on-year, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday.

Revenue jumped 20 percent year-on-year to 43.51 billion yuan during the same period.

From humble beginnings in pharmaceuticals and property development, the Shanghai-based company has today built up a business empire that spans diverse fields, including pharmaceuticals and healthcare, tourism, culture and fashion, as well as insurance and financial services.

Riding high on its expanding global footprint, the company has turned its eyes from Europe and the United States to more populous and less developed markets, including India, Indonesia and countries in Africa, said Xu Xiaoliang, co-president of Fosun. Its new target countries mirror China's past, years or even decades ago, and count on their demographic dividends to emulate China's development miracle, Xu said.

In the first half of the year, Fosun invested 4 billion yuan into technologies and innovations, aiming to meet the pledge it made in March to pour more than 20 billion yuan into cutting-edge technologies over the coming three years. The move is part of the acquisitive company's goal to lead the way to the next big tech breakthrough, and build up an investment empire of billion-dollar companies.

Babytree, a mobile app for young or expecting mothers, is just one unicorn - a startup valued at $1 billion or more - in which Fosun owns a substantial stake. It filed for an IPO in Hong Kong in June.

The move underscores Fosun's push to capitalize on the financial center's appetite for tech floats, as it puts more high-quality assets from its investment portfolio on an IPO trajectory.

Fosun has also received approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange to spin off its tourism and hotel unit, which includes Club Med, in July, and aims to list the unit.

Shares of Fosun International edged up 0.14 percent to close at HK$14.56 ($1.85) on Wednesday. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.23 percent, or 64.82 points, to finish at 28416.44 points.