"Chinese Wealthy Invest Heavily in Musk's Unlisted Stocks"

UK FT Reports: "Wealthy Chinese Show Interest in Musk"
"435 Billion KRW Worth of Musk's Unlisted Shares Bought Over Two Years"
Profit-Seeking Motive... Some Express Concerns Over 'Chinese Ties'

There are reports that wealthy Chinese individuals are secretly making large investments in Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla's, unlisted companies. On the 9th (local time), Yonhap News Agency cited the UK Financial Times (FT), reporting that "three asset managers dealing with Chinese investors said they sold over $30 million (approximately 43.5 billion KRW) worth of Musk's unlisted company shares to Chinese investors over the past two years."

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is boarding Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, at Palm Beach International Airport on the 9th (local time). Photo by AFP Yonhap News

According to Yonhap and FT, Chinese investors are investing through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to conceal their identities, primarily purchasing shares in Musk's unlisted companies such as xAI, Neuralink, and SpaceX. While investing through SPVs is not illegal and appears mainly aimed at capital gains, concerns have been raised about the expansion of Chinese capital's influence on U.S. politics, considering the relationship between the U.S. and China. Musk is a close associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump and leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), wielding significant influence over the administration.

Derek Scissors, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), told FT, "How can someone in Musk's position, with so many ties to China, continue to be the right person to reform the U.S. government?" raising issues of conflict of interest. However, according to FT, sources indicate that the investors' goal is profit-seeking, with no apparent intent to influence technology transfer or U.S. policy.

In fact, Chinese investors show high interest in Musk. Recently, hundreds of Chinese investors reportedly gathered for an online seminar hosted by an investment company in Hangzhou, China. The company promoted that "the corporate value of SpaceX, led by Musk, is expected to triple within the next three years, supported by the U.S. government," and that individuals could invest up to $200,000 (approximately 290 million KRW) each.

Meanwhile, within China, in 2020, Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, the country's largest e-commerce company, faced severe repercussions from the government after strongly criticizing financial regulators. This has led to analyses suggesting that investors are increasingly focused on seeking overseas investment opportunities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.