Building on success in overseas markets

Tycoon wants to leave a lasting presence with big-ticket projects

Yan Jiehe is often considered a different entity in the world of conventional business and entrepreneurship. The former teacher, big time developer and one of China's richest men is someone who is not afraid to speak his mind, irrespective of the stage. But the founder of China's largest private company Pacific Construction Group is also an outstanding entrepreneur and business leader known for his thoughtful, often innovative approach.

It is not uncommon to see the 54-year-old Yan going hammer and tongs against government policies in front of hundreds of reporters and even senior government officials. Yan, often referred to as "the maddest Chinese man on the planet", said he is not ashamed of the reference and uses it when talking to guests like former US president Bill Clinton, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, former British prime minister Gordon Brown, former German chancellor Gerhard Schroder, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and so on.

If that doesn't help him make headlines, the latest Fortune Global 500 list sure would. Yan's firm - Pacific Construction Group - is ranked 166th in the list of the world's largest companies, only four notches lower than US-based tech giant Google Inc and five notches higher than UK-based financial services firm Barclays.

With annual sales of $59.6 billion in 2013 - up 40 percent from a year before - Pacific Construction is 50 percent larger than technology giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, or nearly twice as large as automaker Geely Group (owner of Volvo), which makes it the undisputed leader among privately owned companies on the Chinese mainland. Although Pacific Construction has for long been known in China for its size (operations and revenue), it is the first time that it has been ranked in the Fortune rankings.

Yan, however, does not attach much importance to the ranking. In his trademark style, at a press conference in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, he said his efforts would instead be focused on making Pacific Construction a formidable name in the global infrastructure construction market.

"Our presence in the Fortune Global 500 is just for the consideration of internationalization," he said.

Indications that Pacific Construction was keen on bolstering its international presence became clear earlier this year, when Yan indicated that his company was in advanced talks with Australian and New Zealand officials for infrastructure projects. In May, Pacific Construction signed agreements with Mongolia, Chile and Ghana for infrastructure projects in those countries, said company officials.

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