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Luxury House King Qin Jinzhao
Qin Jinzhao, who left a significant mark in the history of Hong Kong real estate, has a life trajectory that can be regarded as a footnote to the turbulent times of 1997. This legendary figure, who joined the top wealthy circle before he was 40, launched an astonishing shopping spree through his Keen Lloyd Holdings between 1996 and 1997. He spent HK$3.2 billion to sweep the top luxury homes in Hong Kong Island. Dynasty Court alone owns more than 30 units, second only to the developer Sun Hung Kai Properties in scale. He has also bought nearly 100 units in top luxury properties such as Hillsborough Court, Tregunter Tower and Parkview Hill, thus earning the reputation of "King of Luxury Homes". However, his high-profile style brought him trouble. His wife Deng Shufen and young son were almost kidnapped in Kowloon Tong, which foreshadowed his fate.
Smuggling into Hong Kong
The Qin family's rise to prominence can be traced back to Qin Shunchao (1930-2010), a farmer from Huangpu, Guangzhou. His son Qin Jinzhao (the second child; his elder brothers were Hanzhao, Bingzhao and Guozhao) was imprisoned for five or six years during the Cultural Revolution. In 1979, he risked his life to sneak into Hong Kong and join his third uncle Qin Shunnan, who was engaged in a shady business in Cheung Chau. It is said that the father and son started their business in the transportation industry in the 1980s by importing more than 100 second-hand dump trucks from Hong Kong to the mainland, and later expanded to modifying second-hand Japanese left-hand drive trucks and reselling them to the mainland.
Tonghao Electronics Factory was founded in 1994. In 1996, it acquired Guangzhou Huangpu Copper Tube Factory and built Hanjing Hotel. It also invested more than 500 million yuan in a joint venture with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission to transform Guangzhou Miaotou Wharf into Jianxiang Wharf, officially entering the shipping field. Qin's father was then awarded the title of "Transportation King" and the family assets were said to be over 10 billion.
I recognize shit, I recognize my fart, I recognize my adopted sister
In his early years, Qin Jinzhao often referred to himself as a "China-Africa political and business broker", claiming that he was taken care of by his adopted sister Sabina Wan (lower left in the picture, daughter of Lieutenant General Wen Yucheng and wife of the Speaker of the Congolese Parliament), and made huge profits by investing in oil, diamonds and gold mines in Africa, and used this huge amount of money to buy properties in Hong Kong. However, after the collapse of Jianlai Group, the truth behind how it got rich was revealed - it was exactly the same as the methods used by Zhou Zhengyi and other speculators, all of whom operated funds by bribing Chinese bank officials. Its so-called "profitable business in Africa" is actually a smokescreen to deceive the public.
The sister cheated
It is worth noting that Wen Ruifen was later sentenced to life imprisonment in the Mainland for defrauding New World Development Chairman Cheng Kar-shun (Cheng Kar-shun) of HK$250 million by fabricating Microsoft project development authorization.
Financial crisis: property developers kicked off contract and took risks for fraud and were jailed
When the financial crisis hit in 1998, this real estate fanatic instantly became the "king of kicking contracts", defaulting on many sky-high transactions. In 2001, he was arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption for conspiring with senior executives of Xinhua Bank to forge a letter of credit worth HK$220 million (the incident was later adapted into the third series of "ICAC", with Law Kar-ying playing the prototype). In 2002, Jianlai Group’s main creditor, Xinhua Bank, applied for liquidation, and all of its luxury homes became bank-owned properties. In 2004, the court found him guilty of conspiracy to defraud and sentenced him to six and a half years in prison (one year was reduced after appeal). A generation of heroes was thrown into prison.
Successfully acquitted himself
After being released from prison in 2007, Qin Jinzhao switched to the logistics industry in China and Hong Kong, but was caught up in the legal whirlpool again. Between 2010 and 2012, he was charged with suspected money laundering and smuggling of goods through cross-border transportation channels, with the amount involved reaching more than HK$3 billion. This marathon trial lasted for nine years, and he was finally acquitted in 2019 by personally defending himself, adding another dramatic turn in his eventful life.
Looking back at Qin Jinzhao's life trajectory, from the golden age of dominating the luxury housing market, to his sacrifice in the property market during the financial crisis, from the century-long case that sent him to jail, to his desperate counterattack to clear his name, every turning point reflects the unpredictable waves of Hong Kong's economic cycle. His legendary experience is not only a record of the ups and downs of his personal destiny, but also a specimen of the times that witnesses the cruel survival rules of the capital game.
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