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Zhu Wenqian

China’s first online gaming billionaire has acquired the Mia Hotel in downtown Shanghai in a deal worth about 220 million yuan (US$32.6 million), becoming one of the latest investors to bet on a turnaround in the country’s long-suffering property market.
Chen Tianqiao – a reclusive entrepreneur known for his global investment portfolio – bought the hotel from Singapore-headquartered investment firm GLP at a below-market price, with analysts describing the deal as a “sound investment”.
The 53-year-old, who has stayed out of the public eye in China for years, appears to be looking to take advantage of the long downturn in the Chinese property market, which has caused prices to plunge since 2020.
Shanda Group – the investment firm Chen initially founded as an online games company – obtained full ownership of the hotel on March 18, buying the stake owned by a subsidiary of GLP, according to Qichacha, a Chinese corporate database.
Property analysts said the deal for the hotel in Shanghai’s central Huangpu district had upside potential. Demand for prime real estate assets in China’s major cities has picked up in recent months, as investors hunt for bargains in anticipation of a market recovery.
“This can be viewed as a sound investment,” said Yan Yuejin, vice-president of Shanghai-based property consultancy E-house China Research and Development Institute.
“Priced significantly below that of nearby second-hand homes, the building enjoys pricing advantages. Located in a prime core area, it is expected to see favourable market outcomes for future leasing and resales.”
The market in Shanghai was still favourable to buyers, Yan added, as some “sellers need urgent capital recycling for multiple reasons”.
But he cautioned that, despite the building’s promising outlook, it also faced multiple headwinds, including competition from similar properties in the surrounding area and relatively weak consumer confidence.

A Chinese national who lives in California, Chen became China’s youngest billionaire at the age of 31, when Shanda listed on the Nasdaq in 2004. The following year, his fortune was valued at 11.7 billion yuan, according to the Hurun China Rich List.
His wealth stemmed from securing an exclusive Chinese operating licence for The Legend of Mir 2 video game from South Korean game developer Actoz Soft for US$300,000 in 2001. The game turned profitable within a month of launching and later became a blockbuster hit in China.
Last year, Chen and his wife Luo Qianqian ranked 73rd on the Hurun list, with a combined wealth of 68 billion yuan. He and Shanda Group have also been sizeable investors in brain-computer interface technology.
His latest acquisition, the 11-floor hotel in central Shanghai, sits in a neighbourhood dotted with garden villas and former residences of notable historical figures.
The building’s successive changes of ownership serve as a microcosm of distressed asset revitalisation in Shanghai.
Formerly known as Gaozi Tower, the property was initially owned by a construction materials firm and operated as a budget hotel under the H World brand. Following the owner’s debt default, it was pledged as collateral for overdue bank loans.
In 2018, DCL Investments, a distressed asset investor, acquired full ownership through judicial proceedings. The company later sold the asset to GLP for 210 million yuan in 2020, according to industry reports.
After the acquisition, GLP renovated and redeveloped the site into a boutique hotel, which opened as Mia Hotel in late 2022. Following the equity transfer to Shanda, the hotel suspended guest reservations and has been taken off booking platforms.


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Online gaming billionaire Chen Tianqiao acquired the Mia Hotel at a discount, as investors bet on a recovery in China’s prime real estate market


Online gaming billionaire Chen Tianqiao acquired the Mia Hotel at a discount, as investors bet on a recovery in China’s prime real estate market.


Reclusive Chinese billionaire strikes US$33m deal to take over Shanghai hotel

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Online gaming billionaire Chen Tianqiao acquired the Mia Hotel at a discount, as investors bet on a recovery in China’s prime real estate market

Online gaming billionaire Chen Tianqiao acquired the Mia Hotel at a discount, as investors bet on a recovery in China’s prime real estate market