China Bluestar Group's headquarters in Beijing. The Blackstone Group supported Bluestar's acquisition of a chemical company in northern Europe for $2 billion. [Photo/China Daily]

Yuan-denominated fund

In 2009, Blackstone was the first foreign PE firm to set up a yuan-denominated fund, with a target to raise 5 billion yuan. By the first closing, which finished in October, more than half the sum had been raised.

Leung said it was taking so long to raise the cash because of the need to seek a series of approvals from various government departments.

He said the fund managers intend to seek funds from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) of China, a strategic reserve fund collected by the nation's central government to support future social security expenditure and other social security needs.

"It will be great to have the NSSF, which is currently China's largest LP in PE funds. The NSSF intends to invest 10 percent of its assets under management in PE funds - about 100 billion yuan ($15.47 billion). That is a very large sum," Leung said.

Leung said there are excellent Chinese managers running yuan-denominated funds, but the Chinese PE market is still in the early stage of development. "Experienced foreign PE firms participating in the yuan-denominated PE market can provide options to the Chinese LPs such as the NSSF, benefiting the people it protects," Leung said.

Life experience

Before working in Blackstone, Leung was Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region between 2001 and 2003.

Newspapers said Leung gave up a plump banker's package of more than HK$23 million ($3 million) a year for a comparatively modest HK$2.45 million.

While at his government post, Leung made significant reforms including raising taxes and cutting the government expenditure to balance the budget, as well as signing the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement with the central government.

After leaving the job, Hong Kong media reported that many things he did in office were "correct, but politically incorrect".

"The circumstances might not have been happy when I left, but it has been a great blessing for me because I learned to be more humble and considerate of others," said Leung.

Looking back, Leung said his business life had been so smooth that he became too confident and did not fully consider some people's feelings when implementing some reforms.

Before becoming Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, Leung had 28 years of experience in the world of finance and was Asia chairman for JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Leung said that ever since he was young he wanted to make a contribution to society.

Born to an ordinary family (his father was a shopkeeper), Leung was the third child of nine sisters and brothers. He was his year's top student in the university entrance exam in Hong Kong. He chose to major in economics at university because he believed it could benefit people and society.

"Later I found many people who studied economics actually became professors," Leung said. "I always hope to do something good for my nation and people, which explains why I do other things while working for commercial sector."

Leung served as chairman of the Education Commission and the University Grants Committee, both advisory bodies to the government in education, for more than 10 years while working for Citibank and JP Morgan.

Now Leung said his family is a blessing from God. His wife, Fu Mingxia, used to be a top diver and was a four-time Olympic gold medalist. They have three children.

"I believe many opportunities are arranged by God," Leung said, reminiscing about his first impressions of the woman who was to become his wife while watching a diving competition of the Barcelona Olympic on television in 1992.

Leung said Fu, 14 then, had short hair and looked like a boy. He was amazed when she achieved a perfectly clean entry from a dive that created almost no splash. "I would not have dreamed that 10 years later she would marry me and we would have children together," Leung said with a smile.

Besides working for Blackstone, Leung also serves as the chairman of Heifei International Hong Kong, a non-profit organization providing animals and training to help impoverished families become self-reliant.

The organization's projects in China have been carried out in 16 provinces and autonomous regions, and more than 72,000 families have received assistance.

Fu also participates in the charity and accompanies Leung to remote villages to visit families around China every year.

Spending more than half the time on business trips, Leung cherishes his time at home with his daughter and two sons, and likes to share with them his education philosophy.

"They are encouraged to develop their hobbies and determine their own career paths, but I hope they will always act justly, love mercy and have humility in mind," Leung said.