Money Machine Part 2: When Mao’s former barefoot doctor helped a US fund buy a Chinese state bank

Shan Weijian, executive chairman of PAG Asia Capital, led the team that scored the first and only takeover of a Chinese bank by a foreign fund in 2005. San Francisco-based Newbridge Capital turned Shenzhen Development Bank from virtual insolvency into one of the country’s best-run and most innovative banks, ultimately selling it for a 14-times return. In the second instalment of a two-part interview, Post business editor Eugene Tang spoke with Shan ahead of the February 7, 2023, release of the banker’s new book about the experience. The story also recounts his time in China as an untrained, barefoot medical worker during the Cultural Revolution. Part one of the interview can be found here: https://www.scmp.com/video/business/3208849/money-machine-part-1-when-maos-former-barefoot-doctor-helped-us-fund-buy-chinese-state-bank