A former Chinese Cultural Revolution role model who shot to fame in 1970s China for submitting a nearly blank exam paper is poised to enjoy the fruits of capitalism as his company lists on the Shanghai stock market.
Zhang Tiesheng’s (張鐵生) stake in Liaoning Wellhope Agri-Tech Joint Stock (遼寧禾豐牧業) will be worth more than 189 million yuan (US$30 million) after the firm lists on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, company filings show.
Zhang is known for handing in an incomplete test paper to a university admissions committee in 1973, saying he was too busy working the land to devote time to academic learning, according to accounts.
He did write a note to the exams graders, in which he said he had “no respect for the bookworms who for many years have been taking it easy and have done nothing useful.”
An “educated youth” sent to work on a rural commune in the northeast province of Liaoning during the decade-long Cultural Revolution, he said that his abilities should be judged on his contributions to the country.
Zhang, who is in his early 60s, later cofounded Wellhope, an agricultural feed company, and now has a 6.8 percent stake in it.
His identity and role in the company were noted by the Beijing Morning Post, which said: “Blank examination paper hero Zhang Tiesheng worth nearly 200 million [yuan] because of share listing.”
Separately, Snapchat Inc has held talks with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) on a possible investment in the mobile messaging startup, US media reported on Wednesday.
It was not clear whether the discussions will lead to a deal, the reports said.
Alibaba, which is preparing for its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange in September, reportedly valued Snapchat at about US$10 billion, media said.
Snapchat rocketed to popularity, especially among teenagers, after the initial version of the app was released in September of 2011. Created by then-Stanford University students, the app allows the sending of texts and photographs that disappear seconds after being viewed.
The company last year rejected a buyout offer from social networking giant Facebook Inc, judging the US$3 billion offer too low.
It has also been courted by other investors and would-be buyers, including a group led by Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), which estimated its value at US$4 billion.
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