In Xu's mind, ABP is different from real estate inits conventional sense. It bears an analogy to acomputer sustaining a network, in which realestate is hardware, resident companies (movinginto ABP) are softwares, and the headquarterseconomy system is the network.
Advanced Business Park(ABP in short) is a large-scale cluster of company headquarters in the Southof Beijing. Xu Weiping, Chairman of the Board ofABP, claims that ABP not only builds a complex to helphundreds of large companies to settle in Beijing, but alsodevelops economy, which materializes headquarters economytheory. The headquarters economy is a brand new form ofeconomy, with infinite potential for development. He willdevote his entire life to ABP.
If someone points at hundreds of buildings and says thatthey are not real estate, no one may believe in him.
In Xu's mind,ABP is different from real estate in its con-ventional sense. Conventional real estate ends at the sellingof completed buildings, while ABP develops economy, head-quarters economy, to be exact. It bears an analogy to a com-puter sustaining a network, in which real estate is hardware,resident companies (moving into ABP) are softwares, andthe headquarters economy system is the network. Only if allthese elements are organically integrated can an efficientlyoperating network be formed. On the platform of ABP, resi-dent companies can take advantage of each other's meritsand offset disadvantages in terms of marketing sales,financing, information, talents, technology and services, cre-ating an infinite development space.
It always takes time for people to accept an emergingnovelty. In the beginning of 2002, when Xu emerged in frontof a large audience with his assumption and ABP blueprint,this 42-year-old British Chinese did not win the recognitionas he had imagined.
It is also at that moment that Xu, executive director ofDauphin Group (UK) and President of its Asia-Pacificoperations, started to keep on expounding his path of thought,his views and a completely different future ABP could create.
Two years later, the title of \"Chairmanof the Board of ABP, Beijing, China\" ispronouncedly printed on Xu's businesscard. Meanwhile, along the Southwest 4Ring Road of Beijing,ABP with 500 com-pany headquarters buildings has taken aninitial shape on the last plot of land thatcan be developed on a large scalein Beijing. In the 18 months start-ing from June 2003 till now, morethan 300 headquarters buildings'construction has been successivelycompleted, forming a magnificentview. All the buildings deliveredfor use of Phase 1 have beenoccupied, those of Phase 2 havebeen basically sold out, and morethan half of those of Phase 3 underconstruction have been booked.
When Xu first chose theproject of ABP, this passionateChinese entrepreneur who loves towear red T-shirts, might not havethought that when he diligently works onthis unfamiliar territory of career, as an ex-plorer and practitioner of headquarterseconomy, he has already propelled him-self to the position of pioneer in the Chi-nese \"new economy\" real estate.
So far the expression of\" headquar-ters economy\" can not be found in any dic-tionary of economics. However, Xu firmlybelieves that China is fully capable of cre-ating a brand-new form of regionaleconomy.
To the delight of Xu, the magnificentand modem ABP has become a compel-ling landscape in the South of Beijing. Justbefore the author dispatched the report, theNew Year Evening Gala entitled \"ABP'sNight Never Falls\" just ended, replaced bysplendid illumination of hundreds of head-quarters buildings, with which the Southof Beijing is no longer the least lit place inBeijing.
You are creating a market. Li Yining,renowned economist, said to Xu on a high-level forum not long ago. Immediatelyafterwards, the senior economist added\"Whoever creates the market benefits fromit first.\"
From the initial vague concept to thecurrently emerging economic form, Xuleads in every step on the way.
It is just because of leading all the waythat each step has been tough for Xu, as abusinessman. He said: \"My practice is farin advance of theoretical development.There is no existing theory to guide thepractice. I have to rely on myself to ex-plore and summerize a theoretical systemto support the practice.\"
In Xu's mind, ABP is not a project inits simple sense, but a grand systematic en-gineering, an \"economic giant\" capableof providing infinite space for imagination.All Xu has been doing is to give the gianta strong and flexible skeleton from the mo-ment it is bom.
Xu thinks that when an initial simpleeconomic behavior is uplifted to a newform of economy, there is an ordered re-leasing process for energy and resources.It is similar to a new product in the sensethat related technical reserves have to bemade when it is launched. Launching farin advance might not be a good thing, be-cause original resources in the marketmight be unnoticeably lost in this way, orto be the worst, not a single bit of recogni-tion is won.
The development of ABP follows suchan ordered theory. According to Xu's plan,this 1000 hectares of land will see its trans-formation from initial headquarters build-ing complex to ABP with 500 companyheadquarters buildings, to the formationof unique headquarters economy, and fi-nally a new area of Beijing-based regionaleconomy with strong radiativeeffect.
ABP is a cause from its verybeginning rather than a project. Xustressed his point of view to thepress on more than one occasion.
On many occasions, Xu con-fessed that he did not like to becalled as real estate developer. Hedoes not dream of making extraor-dinary profits through sellingbuildings, rather he dreams of build-ing a brand-new regional economiclandscape.
Responding to a reporter'squestion\" what kind of regional economiclandscape it is?\", Xu made a rather extrava-gant sign with both of his arms: in thefuture, 500 large company headquartersand more than 2000 small- and medium-sized company headquarters will gatherhere, generating a total revenue of 100 bil-lion RMB. Meanwhile, the strong radia-tive effect will swiftly boost the overall de-velopment of the real estate and the ter-tiary industry in the surrounding area.
It is a very attractive and not-too-dis-tant imagination. Xu believes that the gath-ering of company headquarters will gen-erate a profound and fundamental chemi-cal reaction rather than a single and quan-titative physical reaction.
Xu says that ABP is infinite space, andhe will devote his entire life to it.
When the ABP on the sand table iscompleted in 2 or 3 years' time, will youchoose to leave or stay? the reporter sensedthat the question was redundant the mo-ment he asked it. It is very obvious thatfor Xu, the ABP he has developed elabo-rately has become an inseparable part ofhis life.
However, smiling Xu seemingly lovesto be asked of such questions. In replyingHe drew an analogy between ABP and in-surance economy: Because different typesof insurance can be developed in light otdemand, insurance economy is thereforea type of infinite economy; similarly, fu-ture ABP and headquarters economy haveinfinite development space, and new op-portunities will emerge at each develop-ment phase. In this sense, headquarterseconomy is also a type of infiniteeconomy.
Once again Xu made a step inadvance.
According to initial estimate, the com-pany headquarters moving into ABP willbring 8 to 10 billion RMB of stock ofcapital. Mortgaging these assets will turnstock asset into flow asset.
Xu told the reporters that ABP AssetManagement Group is being formed. Thegroup will provide asset reorganizationand capital operations services to compa-nies moving into ABP, and build a chan-nel for investment and financing amongthe companies.
Generally speaking, companies mov-ing into ABP have sound record ofperformance, and are solvent. Moreimportantly, the real estates in ABP havethe biggest safety factor and credit in thepublic. Therefore, the Asset ManagementGroup can connect all the companies inABP as a whole by financial links. In cer-tain sense, ABP has its own currency.
It is revealed by a friend from the me-dia that Xu has close contacts with Mr.Mundell, \"Father of Euro\". Within lessthan a year, this Nobel Economic Prizewinner visited ABP for three times, andgave the first lecture of Mundell Interna-tional Entrepreneur University in ABP.It seems that Xu's vision about ABP ismore or less influenced by \"Father ofEuro\".
Even when we has not made a profit,prices of surrounding residential buildingshave risen by RMB 1000 to 2000 Yuan.The situation of over supply has changedinto that of short supply. Xu is very\"proud\" of it.
In January 1990, Xu joined a Sino-HKjoint venture named Anye Company. Xustarted as an account manager, and movedall his way up to deputy general manager.Later on, Xu started Zhongnan Electrome-chanical Company on his own. In less than2 years, the little-known company becamea groupenterprise with 10 subsidiaries,turning in taxes listed Top 20 inZhongguancun, China.
Xu had already been a fa-mous person in Zhongguancunand possessed wealth far moreenough for his entire life.
What Xu would muchmore like to see is that in thenear future, ABP will becomean economic platform interwo-ven by multi-cultures and up-holding innovation, where alltypes of social cultures, com-mercial cultures, corporatecultures and financial culturesclashes and fuses. It is verysimilar to the statues standingin the parks of ABP, amongwhich there are those ofConfucius, Qin Shihuang (thefirst emperor that unitedChina), Marx, Carnegie,Napoleon, etc. Xu once said tothe students of MBA 2003Class, Tsinghua University ofwhom he holds the concurrentpost of the teacher in charge,\"It would be difficult to imag-ine a world only with politicians orentrepreneurs.\"
Because of the promising scenario, Xualways stages a high-profile smile beforethe public. In his mind, time will tell.
Impression of (on) Xu
In the circle of Chinese entrepreneurs,Xu is a mysterious figure. The ABP cre-ated by him emerges before the public andseems to create a miracle overnight. Fromthen on, he begins to get into the publiceyes.
Of medium height, Xu wears a pair ofbroad-framed glasses. His broad foreheadbeams with wisdom. The most impressiveabout Xu are his delicate and sensitiveeyes.
Xu is keen on learning and thinking.When he was in London, he most fre-quently went to British Library. He suc-cessively visited UK, France, Germanyand US, and researched on the economicdevelopment paths of those countries. Inaddition, he established extensive contactswith economists in Cambridge Universityand Oxford University. All these laid solidknowledge foundation for the constructionof ABP.
Xu works like a horse. According tohis staff, he only takes about 6 hours ofrest everyday. When tired, he smokes sofanatically that tobacco manufacturerswould like very much give him specialcontribution award. A very rare leisure ac-tivity he takes is to climb the FragrantMountain with some of his staff. Modestyis always sensed in Xu's words. If thereare 10 persons at table in all, he would envythe other 9 except himself, as if he were inbig trouble, and anyone else fared betterthan him. But if you listen carefully, youwould find that he is proud of himself andfull of confidence. The saying \"One shouldnot be arrogant, but should be proud ofhimself.\" fits him as if it were inventedfor him.
Xu likes poems very much. Renownedpoet Xu Zhimo was born in Xu'shometown. His favorite peoms are thosecomposed by Xu Zhimo and Pushkin, be-cause of their tmefulness.
A strong flavor of conventional lite-rati featuring a sense of civil resposiblity,idealism and heroism can be found in him.He said he no longer worked for money. 1billion and 2 billion only means a numeri-cal change for him. Instead, he pursues inwork selflessness, fearlessness and contri-bution to the society. He admires renownedinnovative historic figures. Therefore, stat-ues of many historic giants such asConfucius, Qin Shihuang (the first em-peror that united China), Marx, Napoleonand Carnegie can be seen in ABP.
XU's self-evaluation is a passionateand sensible person. Of B blood type, hecan stay indoors and silently think for awhole day. Once he starts to talk, his wordsflow, and few people can interrupt him. Itis just because of passion and sensibilitythat he is dissatisfied with the status quoand requires himself to keep on thinking,making breakthroughs and innovating.
In martial arts and chivalry novels, Xuwould be a swordsman who does not at-tack in conformity to set rules. However,he emphasizes that his swordsman rulesare loose in appearance but not in essence,a feature shared by excellent proses.
Following Xu's foot steps, we can findthat the secrets of his success are passion,innovation and perseverance. Or accord-ing to a quoted saying, he has chosen aproper location and done a proper thing ata proper time.
Then he succeeded.