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The Diamond Building in Johannesburg
Image source: SouthAfrica.info

Chinese billionaire takes stake in Anglo

The third richest man in China has bought an $800m stake in resources group Anglo American held by the Oppenheimer dynasty, a landmark deal in China’s aggressive acquisition of African resources.

Larry Yung’s acquisition comes two weeks after London and Johannesburg-listed Anglo appointed a new chief executive, American Cynthia Carroll – the first outsider and non-South African to head the company...

...Mr Yung, chairman of Citic, the Chinese state-owned industrial holding company with a turnover of $3.4bn, bought the shares in a personal capacity.

The sale marks a further scaling-down of the Oppenheimer family’s links with Anglo American, the company Ernest Oppenheimer founded in 1917.

The Oppenheimer family and Anglo-American are have a complicated but intimate relationship with De Beers, a South African company that controls most of the world's legal diamond trade. Anglo American is listed on Johannesburg and London exchanges; it not easy to understand the complex shareholding arrangement of the family and those two companies. Chairman of De Beers and current head of the family's business, Nicky Oppenheimer is ranked together with his family at number 134 on the Forbes list of the world's richest people. His fortune is estimated to be USD 4.6 billion.

Larry Yung (in Chinese Rong Zhijian — 荣智健) is the son of Rong Yiren (榮毅仁), a textile tycoon in pre-revolutionary China who became known as a 'red capitalist' because he stayed on after 1949, becoming vice president of the People's Republic. The Rongs did not fare well during the Cultural Revolution but were rehabilitated when Deng Xiaoping came to power.

In 1979, Rong senior founded CITIC, the state-owned company that became China's first successful experiment with capitalism and international finance. Rong junior, usually known in English as Larry Yung, made his own fortune by leading CITIC Pacific's charge into Hong Kong's capital markets and beyond. Yung is listed at number 451 on Forbes' list of billionaires, with a fortune of USD 1.7 billion.