1 billion is not a problem for Xu Jiayin, the former gold owner.

Author | Cao Anxun

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

Six years ago in September, when Xu Jiayin, who was at the height of his power, moved Evergrande's headquarters to Shenzhen, he wasted no time in visiting a mysterious location with Xia Haijun and other core executives of Evergrande - the Shenzhen headquarters of China's most mysterious billionaire businessman, Wang Wenyin, the founder and chairman of Amer International Group. Over the years, this "World Copper King," who is said to control copper mines worth over 10 trillion yuan and steer a Fortune 500 empire, has kept a low profile. Few people know that Amer International is one of the top three private companies in Shenzhen, alongside Huawei and Tencent.

After this visit, Xu Jiayin and Wang Wenyin began to form a deep bond. In 2017, Wang Wenyin contributed 5 billion yuan in Evergrande's 130 billion yuan investment. The two companies have since had significant cross-overs in terms of business and capital.

As the tide turned, with Evergrande's collapse, Amer International's financial situation also became tense. Now, this rumored "World Copper King" is facing difficulties with 100 million yuan and has been temporarily restricted from spending, once again attracting attention in a different light.

According to the China Execution Information Disclosure Network, on August 31st, Amer International Group and its legal representative Wang Wenyin were issued a high-consumption restriction order by the Intermediate People's Court of Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province. The applicant is China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Co., Ltd., and the case was filed on April 4, 2023. The reason is that Amer International Group failed to fulfill its payment obligations on time, involving an amount of approximately 100 million yuan.

On September 4th, Amer International responded on its official website, stating that the case involved a lawsuit between one of its subsidiaries and the general contractor of a project, which has now been resolved. The Zaozhuang Intermediate People's Court also publicly stated on the same day that Amer International Group has fulfilled its payment obligations and the high-consumption restriction order has been lifted.

However, this incident has also revealed a glimpse of Wang Wenyin's financial difficulties. Many people have only now realized that in the six years since he was able to influence Xu Jiayin, Wang Wenyin, who was once a prominent figure and could be considered Xu Jiayin's benefactor, is no longer as glorious as before.

Information from Qichacha shows that the number of lawsuits against Amer International Group has been increasing since the second half of 2022. The reasons for the lawsuits involve construction contract disputes, equity transfer disputes, and other risks such as construction contract disputes, private lending, and pledged equity. The case that led to Wang Wenyin's "high-consumption restriction" is one of them.

According to court documents, China Construction Eighth Engineering Division previously sued another subsidiary of Amer International Group for starting construction without signing a contract, resulting in a suspension due to the lack of a construction planning permit. China Construction Eighth Engineering Division demanded that Amer International pay the outstanding 30 million yuan for the project.

A source close to Amer International Group told Wall Street News that since the end of last year, people from cooperating companies involved in related lawsuits have been coming to the headquarters to demand explanations. However, because it did not involve the boss directly, the level of attention was not high.

Amer International has reached its current state due to the unsustainable nature of its previous business model and the failure to recover investments in companies such as Evergrande and WM Motor, as well as its deep ties with real estate companies like Evergrande.

Over the past few years, Wang Wenyin has invested heavily in various industries, from new metal materials and semiconductors to smart terminals, often investing tens of billions of yuan. He has also relied on his industry connections to navigate between governments and real estate developers, forming a vast business empire. Before this, the official website of the Zhongwei Group showed that it has more than 40 industrial parks at home and abroad, with over 10 square kilometers of commercial development parks worldwide, 100 square kilometers of industrial development parks, 1,000 square kilometers of mining areas, and 10,000 square kilometers of mining rights areas. Prior to this, the information released by Zhongwei Group indicated that its total copper reserves were around 30 million tons, accounting for 30% of China's copper reserves at that time and approximately 3.65% of the global copper reserves. As a result, Wang Wenyin earned the title of "Copper King of the World."

An insider familiar with Zhongwei Group stated that local authorities attach great importance to Zhongwei Group's position among the Fortune 500 companies, and the industrial parks it invests in are often labeled as "Information Industry Park," "New Materials Manufacturing Industry Park," and "Semiconductor Industry Park" - all of which are highly valued "cutting-edge industries" by local authorities.

Industrial parks combined with actual industries are a "weighty" business that puts a high strain on a company's cash flow. However, Wang Wenyin managed to profit from land development in industrial parks and then sold the land to real estate companies.

In many places such as Chenzhou, Jinan, Huzhou, and Jinhua, Zhongwei Group has employed similar land transfer techniques, resembling that of a "middleman."

Poly Development, Central South Construction, Evergrande, and local urban investment companies are all business partners of Wang Wenyin. For example, in 2017, several real estate development subsidiaries of Zhongwei Group were gradually transferred to companies under Evergrande or became key suppliers to Evergrande. These transferred subsidiaries acquired nearly 20 residential land parcels and 8 mixed-use land parcels in Lanzhou between 2013 and 2015, but no construction work was carried out.

Yan Yuejin, Director of the E-House Research Institute, stated that Zhongwei Group, as a Fortune 500 company, has advantages in the land development process. As the leading party, the government exchanges land for industries to promote local economic development. The cost of land development is much lower than that of public land auctions, and there is a larger land scale. Additionally, some residential land is provided as well, making it highly favored by enterprises.

However, with the downturn of the real estate industry, Zhongwei's strategy of profiting from land development in industrial parks and then selling it off is no longer viable. The extensive layout of industrial parks has put a strain on Zhongwei's financial resources.

The aforementioned insider stated that during the three years of the pandemic, Zhongwei accelerated its overall expansion, attempting to "buy low" during the crisis. However, the expansion was too extensive, putting pressure on the company's financial resources.

In addition to its own business failures, many of Wang Wenyin's investment ventures are also related to Evergrande, which has had an impact on Zhongwei's own operations.

In 2020, Evergrande's debt-to-equity swap for strategic investments included Wang Wenyin, who stood to the right of Xu Jiayin in the group photo, making him one of the most important people in Xu Jiayin's circle of friends. Wang Wenyin also has equity investments in "new forces" in the automobile industry such as WM Motor and Iconiq Motors. Even the recent "Middle Eastern tycoon" Newton Group, which came to the aid of Evergrande Auto, has a deep relationship with Wang Wenyin. The two parties also jointly established Zhongwei Iconiq (Shenzhen) New Energy Automotive Technology Co., Ltd.

In Wang Wenyin's success story, he often mentions that he seized opportunities during crises and achieved overtaking on the bend. He has repeatedly bottomed out during financial crises and leveraged financial means and capital operations. This "world copper king" with a strong gambling instinct, can he withstand the test of the cycle under the trend of "deleveraging"?

Few can escape the storm of the cycle.