A Trailblazing American Venture in China

Watch the replay: https://bit.ly/40bgJTw

In this lecture, Weijian Shan, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of PAG, shared stories behind his new book, Money Machine. Shan said he had written the book to fill the void of information on private equity and how it worked in China. He drew on his decades of experience working in the US and China to provide an insider's perspective on the industry.

Shan’s most well-known investments include acquisitions of two deeply troubled banks: Korea First Bank in 1999 and Shenzhen Development Bank (SZB) in 2004. “We were not confident at all,” said Shan, on the decision to proceed with acquiring SZB. Not only was the bank problematic, but many also doubted it was even possible for a foreign investor to buy a bank in China, whose banking system was very restrictive back in the early 2000s. Shan and his team, however, were acutely aware of the rare opportunity presented, as being able to buy control of a bank was like having “a license to print money”.

Watch the replay to hear more here.