Lay a solid foundation in three years and make a great achievement within ten years. With the year of 2016 drawing to a close, the three-year foundation- laying objective of Oceanwide Holdings is entering into the last year. Confronted with the continuous economic downturn in 2016, Oceanwide Holdings has made satisfactory achievements in the transformation: the real estate business has realized continuous development, the financial holding platform has been improved, the international layout has been gradually realized, and an international enterprise group with the integration of industry and finance that focuses on finance on the basis of industry via the platform of Internet began to taken shape.

According to the analyst of Cinda Securities, in the past more than three decades, Oceanwide Holdings has developed from the initial phase to the golden age and then the silver age just as the epitome of China’s real estate industry. In 2014, Oceanwide Holdings re-planned the strategy of the company in combination with the resource advantages of the large shareholders according to new changes in the macro-economy, industry and market. Besides, Oceanwide Holdings has explored a distinctive way by integrating industry and finance in the transformation from a traditional real estate enterprise.

It will make finance as the main industry on the basis of traditional advantages of the real estate industry, expedite the establishment of a full-licensed financial holding platform with the resources of big shareholders by means of industrial operations and asset acquisitions, and enhance the development and expansion of the financial industry. Currently, the company has engaged in several fields such as securities, trust, futures, insurance, Internet finance, guarantee, funds and asset management. The overseas financial platform established in US and Hong Kong will play a more significant role. The financial industry layout spanning domestic and overseas markets with the objective of full financial licenses has been gradually perfected.

Upgrade of the Financial Holding Platform

At the end of May 2015, Lu Zhiqiang resumed his position as Chairman of the board of the listed company after one year behind the scene. The company has made deep progress in various aspects after the transformation layout, and the strategic objective of the company had been adjusted from “real estate + finance + strategic investment” to “build an international enterprise group with the integration of industry and finance that focuses on finance on the basis of industry via the platform of Internet.”

The company’s capital operation in securities, trust and insurance in 2015 laid foundation for the layout of the financial holding platform, and the establishment of MJS and capital increase in Minsheng Trust in 2016 upgraded the financial holding platform of the company.

In November 2015, the acquisition of Asia-Pacific Property and Casualty Insurance by Oceanwide was approved by China Insurance Regulatory Commission(CIRC); later in December 2015, Oceanwide Holdings announced that it would increase the registered capital of Asia-Pacific Property and Casualty Insurance from 2 billion to 10 billion yuan, in order to supplement its capital fund, increase its working capital, expand its business scale, and enhance its market competitiveness and anti-risk capability. On January 14th, upon approval by CIRC, Min’an Property & Casualty Insurance was renamed Asia-Pacific Property & Casualty Insurance Co., Ltd. and became the first company of “Asia Pacific” insurance brand.

After over half a year of preparation, the industrial and commercial registration of MJS was officially approved in February 2016, which laid foundation for the establishment of the Internet financial platform of Oceanwide Holdings. It is understood that MJS with a registered capital of one billion yuan will become a platform company, including various financial products such as securities and futures.

At the end of March, Oceanwide Holdings acquired the stock rights of China Minsheng Trust transferred from the big shareholder China Oceanwide. Upon change of stock rights, Oceanwide Holdings indirectly held 93.42% stock rights of Minsheng Trust, becoming the controlling shareholder of Minsheng Trust, which indicated Minsheng Trust would be included into the scope of consolidation of the financial statements of Oceanwide Holdings in the ensuing fiscal year.

In order to expand the capital scale and better respond to the increasingly intensified competition in the asset management industry, Oceanwide Holdings continued to increase the capital in Minsheng Trust upon the completion of the transfer of above stock rights. The wholly-owned subsidiary Wuhan Branch of Oceanwide Holdings contributed 5,687,200,000 yuan, and subscribed the newly increased registered capital 4 billion yuan of Minsheng Trust as per 1.422 yuan per share, increasing its registered capital from 3 billion yuan to 7 billion yuan.

With the trend of the investment of industrial capital in Internet finance, Oceanwide Holdings grasped the opportunity to officially establish Minsheng Financial Services Holdings Co., Ltd. last September, which indicated that the Internet finance layout of Oceanwide Holdings had been formed and perfected. According to statistics, the registered capital of Minsheng Financial Services Holdings is planned as 5 billion yuan, which shall be paid in full by Oceanwide Holdings, including 1,806,000,000 yuan to be subscribed in cash; 100% stock rights of four Internet finance subsidiaries, i.e. MJS, Financing Guarantee Company, Minsheng Financial Services Investment and YJS will be valued and used to subscribe 3,193,000,000 yuan.

Oceanwide Holdings has obtained multiple financial licenses for securities, insurance, trust and futures by acquisition and establishment of new companies. Its complete layout cannot be rivaled by domestic private enterprises.

Overseas Development of Financial Layout

The integration of several domestic financial licenses is inevitable whether in consideration of the strategic objective of the company or the purchase of more shares of Minsheng Bank, while the overseas development of the financial layout of Oceanwide Holdings is reasonable but unexpected.

On October 27th, Oceanwide Holdings announced that the joint stock company Asia-Pacific Huanyu Investment Co., Ltd. acquired all the shares issued by the large comprehensive American financial insurance group Genworth Financial, Inc (hereinafter referred to as “Genworth Financial Inc”) listed at New York Stock Exchange with 2.7 billion dollars. It is understood that, Genworth Financial Inc is the largest long-term care insurance company engaged in life insurance and annuity business; it is also one of the major housing mortgage insurance companies in US among the Fortune 500 and ranks 77th in the Forbes global insurance industry.

Asia-Pacific Huanyu was established on July 27th with a registered capital of 20 billion yuan and wholly owned by Oceanwide. China Oceanwide Holdings Group, a shareholder of Oceanwide Holdings, the related legal person Oceanwide Capital Investment Management Group, and Wuhan Branch, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oceanwide Holdings respectively contributed 40%, 35% and 25% of the registered capital. Upon completion of acquisition, Oceanwide Holdings will indirectly hold 25% stock rights of the acquired company through the wholly-owned subsidiary-Wuhan Branch. According to Oceanwide Holdings, the company was expected to enter into new investment fields, accumulate overseas market experience, and solve problems brought forth by the increasing aging population in China with the help of this transaction.

As a matter of fact, Oceanwide Holdings has taken measures most frequently in the insurance plate in the layout of financial licenses. As early as November 2015, Wuhan Branch acquired 51% stock rights of Min’an Property and Casualty Insurance (renamed Asia-Pacific Property and Casualty Insurance at the beginning of 2016) with 1.785 billion yuan, becoming the controlling shareholder of Min’an Property and Casualty Insurance. In August 2015, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Oceanwide Holdings invested in the establishment of Asia-Pacific Reinsurance jointly with Macrolink Real Estate, Elion Resources Group, GIANT Investment and Chongqing Sanxia Fruit Group. Upon initiation of Asia-Pacific Property and Casualty Insurance, Oceanwide Holdings successfully obtained the insurance license, while the participation in Genworth Financial Inc was an important step in the overseas expansion of the insurance business.

In addition to insurance companies, Oceanwide Holdings is also interested in foreign-capital securities companies. On the morning of November 3rd, Oceanwide Holdings announced that, its wholly-owned overseas subsidiary Oceanwide International Finance planned to acquire 51% stock rights of Quam International Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong full-licensed securities company, with around 1.097 billion HK dollars. According to public information, the acquired company Quam Limited is a company listed at the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd., and a full-licensed securities company engaged in extensive financial business with licenses for securities trading, futures contract trading, securities consultancy, corporate financing, etc. in Hong Kong.

With controlling shares in Quam Limited, Oceanwide Holdings will establish the “Minsheng Securities + Quam Limited” dual-securities-company platform inside and outside the Chinese mainland with the full-licensed qualification of Quam Limited; in addition, the two securities companies can realize resource sharing and business integration to provide more comprehensive and better services for clients.

Just as what the company has said, the expansion of financial layout and acquisition of full financial licenses are the top priority of the transformation development strategy of the company. After over two years’ business development, it has expanded the financial business to securities, trust, insurance, futures, funds (planned), asset management, Internet finance, etc., and the overseas financial platform established in US and Hong Kong will play a more significant role. The financial industry layout spanning domestic and overseas markets with the objective of full financial licenses has been gradually perfected.

In addition to the financial business, Oceanwide Holdings has also achieved sustainable development in the real estate business. In the first half of 2016, faced with the favorable factors such as the relaxed and stable real estate policies and concentrated release of various demands, the commercial house market continued with the obvious recovery in 2015 with rise in both quantity and price and expedited destocking, especially in the first and second-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan. The company released the land value, and comprehensively expedited the real estate development and sales by grasping the good market opportunities, which realized year-on-year substantial increase in the operation indexes such as the revenue, net profits and sales of the real estate business in the first half of year.

Upon the acquisition of Genworth Financial Inc, and the overseas development of the financial industry in US, Oceanwide Holdings has again developed the real estate business in US market. On December 8th, 2016, the groundbreaking ceremony of San Francisco Urban Complex Oceanwide Center developed by Oceanwide Holdings was held. It is understood that the project is mainly composed of two landmark buildings, covering diversified types of operation such as high-end apartments, super-large offices and public spaces, the luxurious Waldorf Astoria Hotel, etc. As the second tallest building in San Francisco upon completion, Oceanwide Center will change the pattern of the core area of downtown San Francisco. It is the second complex built by Oceanwide Holdings in US, after Los Angeles Oceanwide Plaza.

In consideration of the current situation of Oceanwide Holdings, the company has realized successful transformation, but there is still a long way to go compared with other financial holding groups on the basis of the financial industry. The Chairman of Oceanwide Holdings Lu Zhiqiang once stressed in an internal speech that, the company should master the development situation of global economy and observe the new normal of China’s economic development; confronted with “many changes, difficulties and opportunities” in the current economic situation of China, the company should build a more complete financial industry chain, form diversified financial service modes, continuously focus on the financial plate, enhance the operation efficiency, and expedite the overseas business layout and implementation of key projects, in order to “build an international enterprise group with the integration of industry and finance that focuses on finance on the basis of industry via the platform of Internet.”