Asia’s Hurun Report Makes its Debut on Canadian Stage
The Forbes of China is making the move from Asia to North America with a gala event and ambitious plans
In late April, at the Vancouver Convention Centre, an event was held that has the potential to reshape Canadian business opportunities for the next decade.
Attended by over a thousand individuals from the worlds of business, real estate and tech, the Hurun Report Canada Summit was held on April 29. The company and its’ publication Hurun Report may not be well-known to Canadians but in China the brand is as recognizable as Forbes is to westerners.
Founded by Luxembourg born businessman Rupert Hoogewerf (whose Chinese name is Hu Run 胡润), Hurun Report is a platform focused on promoting entrepreneurship, and discovering/developing business potential. Well-known for their lists of the world’s wealthiest, making it on Hurun Report’s radar is like receiving an Oscar nomination in the world of Asian business.
After making their initial entry point in Vancouver, Hurun’s plan is to spread into the wider North American market. Plans to travel south into
America and through the west coast come first before moving eastward.
Forging partnerships with several other business entities catering to investment management, luxury real estate, and raising capital for startups, Hurun has developed an ambitious plan to offer value and a point of celebration for Canadian entrepreneurs. The evening portion of the April 29 event focused on recognizing rising talent in the arenas of developers, realtors, unicorn tech firms, and young entrepreneurs.
“We jumped on this because Hurun is a very big brand in China, but we also wanted to recognize the top real estate professionals around the world, and specifically in Canada,” explains Jesse Peng, CO-CEO of Luxury Listings who represents the high-end real estate side of the Hurun dream team partnership. “There wasn’t a red-carpet event to recognize these professionals. Most brokerages or developers have their own dinner galas to recognize their teams, but never has there been a company that brings a collective of the top real estate professionals in the community together to recognize the best of the best.”
The morning portion of the event brought attention to business founders under the age of 30. This new talent connected with VCS to hear pitches and provide feedback on their offerings.
“We do want to explore, enhance and empower these new generations,” adds Nevin Xu, CEO of Enoch Wealth and another member of the Hurun Canada partnership. “That’s why the U30 are such a big part of the Hurun brand itself to find these young companies and entrepreneurs and give them recognition and mentorship.”
Hurun Canada foresees annual gala events to recognize the top players in multiple verticals. Hurun has already seen how their Asian-focused events have facilitated discussions between rival companies, allowing for a shared vision of growth for a collective area of interest and even collaborations.
“According to our survey, 88 percent of attendees have done or expect to do business with a connection made at Hurun event,” Peng elaborates on. “Hurun and companies like Enoch Wealth and Luxury Listings have come together to build this event as a celebration for everyone, regardless of being competitors in the field.
Tang Tang, Chairman of the Hurun North America and Baron Group adds, “We are proud to host this event and have plans to invest back into the community and business here in Canada. We look forward to making new friends and pursuing exciting opportunities in real estate and VC funding.”