Xiang Guangda
{{Short description|Chinese industrialist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Xiang Guangda
|image = Xiang Guangda 2017.jpg
|caption = Xiang in 2017
|birth_place = Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
|birth_date = {{birth year and age|1958}}
}}
Xiang Guangda ({{zh|s=项光达|p=Xiàng guāngdá}}; born 1958) is a Chinese industrialist. He is the founder of the Tsingshan Holding Group, a metallurgical company primarily engaged in the manufacturing of stainless steel.
Early life and career
Xiang was born on 1958 to a working class family in Wenzhou, Zhejiang. He got his first job in 1980 as a mechanic in a state-run fishery company under Deng Xiaoping's iron rice bowl employment program, and was eventually promoted to director of the company's workshop. In 1986, he and his relatives established a workshop manufacturing car windows and doors.{{cite news |last1=Hume |first1=Neil |last2=Lockett |first2=Hudson |last3=Olcott |first3=Eleanor |last4=Li |first4=Gloria |title=Xiang Guangda, the metals 'visionary' who brought the nickel market to a standstill |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2cb73138-24ae-4e10-a8fd-5558c7155461 |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=Financial Times |date=11 March 2022}}{{cite news |title="Big Shot's" Nickel Short Squeeze: Who is Xiang Guangda? |url=https://www.finews.asia/people/36479-nickel-short-squeeze-who-is-xiang-guangda |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=finews.asia |date=10 March 2022 |language=en-gb}}
Tsingshan Group
He left his job at the state-owned firm in 1988 to become a full-time entrepreneur, raising the equivalent of around USD 100,000 from friends and relatives to fund their business.{{cite news |title=Nickel squeeze shines spotlight on China metals group Tsingshan |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Materials/Nickel-squeeze-shines-spotlight-on-China-metals-group-Tsingshan#:~:text=The%20latest%20global%20rich%20list,wealthiest%20person%20in%20the%20world. |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=Nikkei Asia |date=11 March 2022}} According to Xiang in an interview, he pivoted to manufacturing stainless steel after a 1992 trip to Germany which convinced him that his car parts manufacturing would not be sustainable in the long term. His firm was renamed to Tsingshan in 1998, and the company grew quickly due to its focus on bringing down costs. The firm pioneered the use of cheaper nickel pig iron in place of metallic nickel in its stainless steel production, and implemented the use of the rotary kiln furnace for continuous production.{{cite news |title=A Chinese Steel Giant Is Upsetting the Global Nickel Market |url=https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/the-chinese-steel-giant-that-s-roiling-the-global-nickel-market |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=BloombergQuint |date=1 November 2019 |language=en}}
Under Xiang, Tsingshan began to invest in nickel mines in Indonesia during the 2000s, when reserves were still unproven. Tsingshan established nickel and stainless steel production complexes in Sulawesi (the Morowali Industrial Park), which further lowered the production cost for stainless steel. Tsingshan also established production plants in India and Zimbabwe. Although in the mid-2000s Tsingshan was one of several stainless steel manufacturers in Wenzhou, by 2021 it accounted for nearly one-fourth of the global output, being by far the largest in the industry. Xiang's net worth is estimated by Forbes in 2021 as USD 1.2 billion.
In the several months leading to March 2022, Xiang began taking a large short position in nickel through Tsingshan, in order to hedge against falling prices. Due to a rise in nickel prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, Xiang was forced to purchase nickel contracts at the London Metal Exchange, creating a short squeeze. The price of nickel at the exchange increased by more than 100 percent, reaching over USD 100,000 per tonne before trading was suspended. By the time trading had been suspended, Tsingshan had suffered USD 10 billion in losses on paper.{{cite news |title=Trader known as 'big shot' battles mystery nickel stockpiler |url=https://www.mining.com/web/trader-known-as-big-shot-battles-mystery-nickel-stockpiler/ |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=mining.com |date=14 February 2022}} However, the Hong Kong-owned LME resorted to retroactively reverse tradings that had already happened,{{Cite web |last=Cressy |first=James |date=March 8, 2022 |title=NICKEL SUSPENSION – FURTHER INFORMATION: DELIVERY DEFERRAL AND TRADE CANCELLATION |url=https://www.lme.com/api/sitecore/MemberNoticesSearchApi/Download?id=11ffba2e-b241-462d-b430-79be927c300f |access-date=November 16, 2022 |website=London Metal Exchange}} and after prices stabilized and trading was resumed, Xiangs' losses were marked as significantly lower, sparking claims of trading manipulation by the exchange in order to favor Xiang Guangda,{{Cite news |author=The Editorial Board |date=2022-03-22 |title=Opinion {{!}} A Chinese Nickel Market Mystery |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-chinese-nickel-market-mystery-london-metal-exchange-tsinghsan-11647982954 |access-date=2022-11-16 |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite web |last=Levine |first=Matt |date=July 7, 2022 |title=Nickel Big Shot Called the Shots |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-07-07/nickel-big-shot-called-the-shots |access-date=November 17, 2022 |website=Bloomberg}}{{Cite web |title=Tycoon whose bet broke the nickel market walks away a billionaire |url=https://www.mining.com/web/tycoon-whose-bet-broke-the-nickel-market-walks-away-a-billionaire/ |access-date=2022-11-16 |website=MINING.COM |language=en-US}} which the LME denied.{{Cite news |date=2022-03-25 |title=Opinion {{!}} London Metal Exchange Denies Chinese Interference in Nickel Market |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/london-metal-exchange-lme-china-interference-trading-nickel-russia-cancellation-11648226403 |access-date=2022-11-16 |issn=0099-9660}} Nickel prices later did fall, and Tsingshan's losses ended up at around USD 1 billion as Xiang closed his positions.{{cite news |title=How the ‘Big Shot’ billionaire tycoon who broke the nickel market managed to claw his short squeeze back from a $10 billion loss |url=https://fortune.com/2022/07/07/big-shot-billionaire-xiang-guangda-who-broke-nickel-market-clawed-short-squeeze-back-from-10-billion-loss/ |access-date=15 March 2023 |work=Fortune |date=7 July 2022 |language=en}}
Family
Xiang's wife along with their daughter Xiang Yangyang hold Singaporean citizenships.{{cite news |title=Heiress to Chinese metal tycoon acquires $62M Singapore mansion |url=https://e.vnexpress.net/news/property/heiress-to-chinese-metal-tycoon-acquires-62m-singapore-mansion-4739703.html |access-date=13 August 2024 |work=VN Express |date=29 April 2024}}