With assets under management exceeding 160 billion yuan, can Li Xingchun, the helmsman, lead the smooth transformation of Lide Technology?

Author | Chen Mao

Edit | Zhang Yinuo

In 2008, the global financial crisis broke out, and most advanced economies implemented monetary easing policies, and China was no exception. The loose policy has led to the rise of a number of industries and industrial chains, especially third-party wealth management that opens up the supply and demand ends of investors and trusts.

As a third-party wealth management institution, Lide Wealth started under such an opportunity, when the main business of Lilibu was to introduce customers to buy trust products, and also put forward the slogan of 'buy trust, find Lide', and it was founder Li Xingchun who found this business opportunity.

Li Xingchun, graduated from the Department of Nuclear Science of Fudan University in his early years, and later obtained a doctorate in management science and engineering (financial engineering) from the School of Engineering management of Nanjing University, and from 2000 to 2008, he successively served as the senior director of Ctrip.com, the vice president of Fuyou Securities Co., Ltd., the executive vice president of Pan Asia Trust and Investment Co., Ltd., and the director and president of Western Development Holdings Co., Ltd., and his resume ran through industrial management, securities companies and trust companies.

At the beginning, the company was called Shanghai Lide Wealth Asset Management Co., Ltd., which was born in Lujiazui Financial Center on January 17, 2008, and changed its name to the current name of Lide Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Lide Technology") in June 2016.

Before 2012, through equity transfer, Lide Technology formed an equity structure in which four natural persons headed by Li Xingchun were indirectly controlled through Two Companies, Wanshu Investment Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("Wanshu Investment") and Shanghai Hengxun Information Technology Service Co., Ltd. ("Hengxun Information"), of which Wanshu Investment accounted for two-thirds of the total shares. After nearly 10 years of new capital introduction, the equity of four natural persons has been diluted after the capital increase and share expansion.

According to the data of Qicha, Li Xingchun indirectly holds a total of 29.73% of the shares of Lide Technology by holding 67% of the shares of Wanshu Investment. At the same time, natural person Hu Guoying indirectly holds a total of 14.64% of the shares of Profit Technology through holding another 33% of the shares of Wanshu Investment, and natural persons Wu Zhiming and Li Yunnan hold a total of 23.89% of the shares of Profit Technology through Hengxun Information. In addition, the four of them jointly and indirectly held no more than 8.43% of the shares of Lide Technology through Shanghai Xunde Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership) invested by Wanshu Investment and Hengxun Information Investment. That is to say, under the dilution of capital, the four people still control more than 70% of the rights and interests of Profit Technology, and have an absolute right to speak.

According to the previous report of China Securities Network, Li Xingchun has a veto right after the project has gone through the risk control process, which also shows its decisive position in the company.

In 2014, before the capital entered, Profit continued to expand its business lines.

Lide established a capital management company in 2009 and obtained a private placement license in 2014, a fund sales company in 2011 and a public fund sales license in 2012. In 2013, it acquired a fund subsidiary license in Huafulide Asset Management Company, and in 2014, it acquired a public fund license by investing in Western Lide Fund Management Co., Ltd.

A series of dazzling operations can be seen that Lide has spared no effort in obtaining financial licenses.

After the completion of the original capital accumulation, Lide attracted the attention of Chenming Group, Xinhaiyi and Taifu Rongcheng, and completed the strategic investment in 2014. According to the enterprise investigation data, the three companies now hold 2.75%, 2.75% and 1.83% of the shares respectively, totaling 7.33%.

With the support of capital, Lide has formed an equity structure and business system of four natural person holdings, two listed companies and multiple investment companies participating in the shares, and western securities business cooperation.

This system has been continuously improved in the next few years, and for industry reasons, the process of improvement has not been smooth.

In December 2018, the Asset Management Association of China suspended the private fund raising business for 6 months for employees of Lide Fund Sales Co., Ltd. for selling private funds with prizes and cooperating with institutions without fund sales qualifications to publicly promote private fund products.

Due to the "original sin" of the birth of third-party wealth management, one is the gap between the product sales function of profit-seeking products and wealth management, one is that the prosperity of the real estate industry no longer exists under radical leverage and policies, one is the regulatory question brought about by the rigid redemption of trust products, idling of funds, and the continuous expansion of shadow banking, coupled with the impact of the asymmetry of information at both ends of investment and financing being digested by time, the huge profits of trust companies and fund subsidiaries no longer exist, and the industry has undergone countless reshuffles after 2014. Among them, Lide has also continuously adjusted its industrial structure and development focus.

As of the end of the first quarter of 2018, the cumulative assets under management of Lide Group exceeded 160 billion yuan. In the face of a future driven by stricter regulations and customer demand, it remains to be seen whether Lide can continue to seize the opportunity to continue to grow.