A Chinese enterprise magnate has conquered a wonderful Australian countryside the dimensions of a small European nation to stay like an English landlord.
Qingnan Wen has simply added one other 1,660-acre sheep station to its $100 million property portfolio, spanning 62 sq. kilometers and bigger than San Marino, close to Italy.
The reclusive billionaire actually obtained wealthy off the sheep’s again, making his fortune as Australia’s prime exporter of wool by his Jiangsu-based Tianyu Wool.
And he’s on a mission to carry again the glory days of wool manufacturing in Australia.
His newest acquisition is the historic 170-year-old Nerrinyerie farmhouse, close to Harrow in Victoria’s western Wimmera area, bought for an estimated $20 million.
It provides to its sprawling 2,349-acre sheep station at Mawallok Farm, close to Beaufort, which value greater than $25 million when bought in February 2020.
Mawallok features a stunning 10-bedroom mansion in-built 1908 the place he can take pleasure in all the trimmings of a tweed-clad English aristocrat, together with tennis courts and a personal six-hole golf course.
Qingnan Wen (pictured) has simply added one other 1,660-acre sheep farm to its $100 million property portfolio, spanning 62 sq. kilometers and bigger than San Marino, close to Italy
Mawallok Farm features a stunning 10-bedroom manor home in-built 1908 with all the trimmings of a tweed-clad English aristocrat, together with tennis courts and its personal six-hole golf course
The reclusive billionaire made his fortune as Australia’s prime exporter of wool by his Jiangsu-based clothes producer Tianyu Wool, which imports about 10 % of Australia’s whole wool provide into China. (Pictured: Models in wool on the Sydney runway)
This map reveals Qingnan Wen’s extraordinary land holdings in Australia
It incorporates a 10 acre synthetic lake designed by Sir John Monash within the type of England’s best nation homes, in addition to ornate manicured gardens designed by William Guilfoyle.
He paid an extra $20 million in 2014 for the two,000-acre Lal Lal property and Swan Lake at Ballarat, and likewise owns an extra 1,600 acres of countryside on Mokanger and Lewana farms, west of the Grampians close to Cavendish.
Lal Lal’s property additionally features a gorgeous Edwardian home, alongside stables relationship again to 1858, when the Fisk household first moved into the realm six generations in the past earlier than promoting it to Mr Wen.
He now oversees the pastures of as much as 60,000 Merino sheep to satisfy the insatiable wants of his firm, China’s largest importer and producer of wool.
Mr. Wen started as a vogue retailer within the Nineteen Eighties and rapidly grew to become a passionate fan of utilizing wool in his clothes.
In the a long time since, he’s transitioned to turning into a full-fledged sheep farmer – and a staunch advocate for getting different Australian farmers on board.
“It’s given me a real understanding of the whole wool industry – and how we can improve it,” he stated in a rare interview six years in the past.
Australian wool manufacturing is recovering very slowly from a dip within the final decade after a increase within the Nineteen Nineties when it was thrice what it’s as we speak.
Wool manufacturing this 12 months is predicted to achieve 328,000,000 kg from 71.5 million sheep, up from 324 million kg final 12 months, and is predicted to extend once more to 332 million kg subsequent 12 months.
But that’s a shadow of the annual manufacturing of 1,100 Mkg within the Nineteen Nineties, when round 120 million sheep grazed rural Australia.
Qingnan Wen paid one other $20 million in 2014 for the two,000-acre Lal Lal property and Swan Lake close to Ballarat, together with this Edwardian homestead
His newest acquisition is the historic 170-year-old Nerrinyerie farmhouse, close to Harrow in Victoria’s western Wimmera area, purchased for an estimated $20 million
He additionally owns an extra 1,600 acres of countryside on the farms of Mokanger and Lewana, west of the Grampians close to Cavendish.
The value of wool has additionally fallen – from almost $21 per kilo in 2018 to lower than $12 per kilo as we speak.
“The biggest problem with Australian merino wool is volume – or lack of it – and the way the quality of Australian fine wool has begun to decline,” he stated in 2017.
“It is understandable that there is less wool now, because if wool prices are too low, farmers are not making enough profit and there is no money or incentive to get them to improve their business.
“I want to change that.”
About 85 % of Australian wool is bought at 46 weekly auctions throughout the nation, with the primary gross sales places in Melbourne, Sydney and Fremantle.
But as a substitute, Mr. Wen – who buys not less than 10 % of the nation’s wool manufacturing – desires to get farmers to signal long-term offers with firms like his.
About 82 % of Australia’s whole wool manufacturing is now exported to China, however the sheer quantity could make the market risky for each patrons and sellers, prompting a push for mounted costs.
In 2017, he organized for 130 delegates from the China Wool Industrial Association, whose members purchase about $3 billion price of Australian wool every year, to carry their “Wool Salon” convention in Lal Lal, the primary time it has been held outdoors of China.
He denied wanting to finish Australia’s wool public sale system, however used the occasion for native sheep farmers to satisfy patrons in particular person to look into making long-term offers.
‘I like the auction system, it’s honest; I by no means stated we don’t wish to,” stated Mr. Wen SheepCentral on the time.
“But what I think is the wool market in Australia is like taking a roller coaster.
“When wool prices hit rock bottom, you see a lot of bad things happen.
“So what I’d like to see is us working together to see how we can stabilize the supply chain so that everyone can share in the benefits of this pipeline.
“Otherwise someone will make a lot of money one day, but someone will make a big loss.”
Qingnan Wen now owns pasture for as much as 60,000 Merino sheep to satisfy the insatiable wants of his firm, China’s largest importer and producer of wool
Australian wool manufacturing is recovering very slowly after a decline over the previous decade after a heyday within the Nineteen Nineties when it was thrice what it’s as we speak
Meanwhile, he has additionally developed his properties to welcome Chinese vacationers, with a Chinese-language customer heart in Lal Lal to promote the advantages of wool.
“I would very much like to share the beauty with most Chinese visitors,” he stated on the time.
“We have five billion people and Australian-grown food, and wool will become more and more precious.
“I want Chinese consumers to see what natural wool from Australia is like, how it is produced and to see for themselves the beauty of this Australian farm and its sheep.
“If everyone in China wants wool clothing, sees (how) versatile the fabric is and thinks it is affordable, then the demand and price of wool will have to increase.”
