Billionaire brings 6,400 to France
Chinese boss gives his staff a weekend in Paris and the Côte d'Azur as a gift to mark company’s 20 years
A CHINESE billionaire has paid for 6,400 of staff to spend the weekend in Paris and the Côte d'Azur as a gift to mark the 20th anniversary of his company, Tiens.
Li Jinyuan, China’s 24th richest person, has spent €13million on reserving rooms in 140 hotels between Paris and Nice and 7,600 TGV seats – meaning SNCF had to put on two extra trains and organise extra staff to cope at Paris Gare de Lyon.
In all, the biotechnology, hotels, education and financial services company boss, is paying for 30,000 bed-nights in France in what was a logistical nightmare for his staff and tourism officials. Tour operator Beijing UTour has been planning the event since December and it is thought to be the biggest single visit ever.
The group was made up of 5,400 staff from China and 1,000 from other countries round the world – about half of Tien’s total staff. They spent two days in Paris visiting the Eiffel Tower and getting a private visit to the Louvre.
Last night they had a gala VIP dinner in a city centre restaurant that was booked for the whole evening before jumping on their TGVs today and to head to the Med.
Staying in rooms spread across the capital of the Côte d'Azur – with a huge fleet of special buses hired to take them round the sights – the group will unite for a special photograph and event on the Promenade des Anglais.
Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius welcomed Li Jinyuan to France on Wednesday and congratulated him on choosing France for the event, hoping he would “show an example to other Chinese companies”.
France is the world’s most visited country with 83m visitors last year when Chinese tourism grew 16%, largely due to the government creating a fast-track “visa in 48 hours”.
And the visitors have had money to spend, with one group of three spending €116,000 on luxury products in Galeries Lafayette in Nice last month - €75,000 in cash and much of it on 50 Made in France Chloé handbags, that cost €1,000 each.
Photo of Li Jinyuan with Laurent Fabius - ©Frédéric de La Mure/Ministère des Affaires étrangères:
