Fosun, China’s largest privately owned conglomerate, says that it expects to benefit from the current economic crisis by investing in European and US companies that can help it exploit strong growth in the Chinese markets for everything from fashion brands, to drugs, to financial services and even retirement homes.
Fosun on Thursday announced a Rmb500m ($78m) joint venture with Prudential Financial, the US insurer, to sell life assurance products in China. The two groups said that they have regulatory clearance for the 50-50 joint venture, which will begin operations late next year.
Guo Guangchang, Fosun chairman and founder, told the Financial Times that the latest economic crisis provides new opportunities for his company to make more such deals with foreign brands, high technology companies, financial services firms and others with specialist expertise or technologies, that need Fosun’s help to make money in China.