HENGDIAN, China, March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Few Chinese firms founded at the dawn of China’s economic reform are still up and running today. In today’s competitive landscape, the survival of a company is intrinsically linked to its ability to serve the people that support it. Hengdian Group, today one of China’s biggest family-owned enterprises and whose growth has been inseparable from the prosperity of its community, embodies just that.
Founded by farmer-turned-entrepreneur Xu Wenrong in 1975, Hengdian Group started as just a fledging silk mill. Best known today for its sprawling movie studio base Hengdian World Studios – commonly called “Chinawood” – its businesses also span diverse industries encompassing electrical and electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, film and entertainment, and modern services. Currently, the Group and its six listed companies employ over 50,000 staff and operate in more than 150 countries and regions globally, with regional headquarters in Tokyo, Singapore and Milan.
This year, Hengdian Group celebrates its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of growth and steadfast commitment to giving back. In that time, the company has marked several key milestones:
- 7.4 billion yuan (1 billion USD) spent on public infrastructure development since 1985 to build roads, schools, hospitals, public services, sewerage systems, an airport and a high-speed rail station
- 500 million yuan (69 million USD) donated to charity campaigns since 1975 in Hengdian and surrounding areas to support elderly citizens and less economically developed regions
- 3 billion yuan (nearly half a billion USD) invested in environmental projects over the last five years in order to meet sustainability and emission reduction targets
For more information and details on these investments, please contact [email protected].
Hengdian World Studios is nestled in the heart of Hengdian town, now a thriving economic and tourism hub
Xu Yong’an, the founder’s eldest son and Hengdian Group’s current CEO and Chairman, runs the company with a philosophy of reciprocity. “We take from society, so we must give back to society too,” he says, comparing the company’s relationship with the public to “fish with water, or trees with the forest.”
Nowhere is this philosophy brought to life more vividly than the southeastern Chinese village that Hengdian Group was born in and named after — Hengdian town. There, people have benefited from economic growth, infrastructure development and social opportunities. Today, Hengdian town’s per capita disposable income outpaces the national average by more than double, driven in part by Hengdian Group’s own rise.
In 2024, Hengdian Group’s total revenue neared 100 billion yuan (13.2 billion USD), while total assets surpassed 140 billion yuan (19.6 billion USD). For the Group and its subsidiaries, business prowess and industry strength have always served as forces for good:
- DMEGC Magnetics innovates on the cutting-edge of renewable solar power technology
- Tospo Lighting invests in R&D to create energy-efficient and vision-protecting LED lights
- Innuovo Technology designs mobility equipment to facilitate the disabled and elderly
- Nanhua Futures uses financial derivatives to help insulate farmers against seasonal volatility
- Hengdian Entertainment makes social and cultural contributions to life in poorer cities, constructing cinemas and holding free screenings for residents in the region
- Apeloa Pharmaceutical donated millions of yuan worth of medicine to hospitals during Covid and signed with UN-backed public health organization Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) to manufacture the generic version of Pfizer’s oral Covid-19 treatment for low- and middle-income countries worldwide; while Wenrong Hospital healthcare workers were dispatched across China to treat patients in need
Xu Wenrong’s first venture was a silk mill, which he then expanded into multiple factories over time
In Hengdian Group’s earliest days, its founder Xu Wenrong, now 90 years old, sowed the seeds for a burgeoning manufacturing industry in Hengdian, drawing laborers to his hometown in search of work. Later, a chance encounter between Xu and a renowned movie director led to the construction of a movie set, triggering Hengdian’s transformation into one of the world’s biggest film studios, attracting visitors from nationwide. Over time, these industries spurred an explosion in service sector businesses and to this day have turned Hengdian into a thriving economic and tourism hub. “At the start, Hengdian was a village and we were a tiny silk mill,” Xu Yong’an recalls. “As we developed, we spurred Hengdian’s growth. And as the city grew, it supported Hengdian Group.”
About Hengdian Group
Hengdian Group is a diversified, multinational conglomerate, comprising six public companies – DMEGC Magnetics, Apeloa Pharmaceutical, Nanhua Futures, HG Entertainment, Tospo Lighting and Innuovo Technology – and over 60 other subsidiaries and more than 200 manufacturing enterprises. It has regional headquarters in China, Tokyo, Milan and Singapore, and continues to expand worldwide. Its work is driven by its overarching mantra: “to be the most socially responsible company.” As a business, Hengdian Group seeks to achieve sustainable, diversified expansion. As a constructive part of society, Hengdian Group vows its everlasting commitment to social well-being in all its business and philanthropic endeavors worldwide.
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