Major investor: Xiaomi chairman and chief executive officer Lei Jun poses for a photograph in Beijing. Lei is the biggest shareholder in Xiaomi with a 31.4 stake, while his fellow founders control 27 of the company. — Bloomberg
HONG KONG: When Xiaomi Corp’s founders were eating millet congee at an office in Beijing’s Zhongguancun neighbourhood in 2010, they decided to create a smartphone brand selling handsets at “honest” prices.
Eight years later, Lei Jun and the seven other Xiaomi co-founders have created a company that wants to challenge the global industry dominance of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co. It’s also targeting an initial public offering (IPO) that’s expected to be the largest since 2014, and which could create five new billionaires.
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