A Chinese billionaire has treated 6,400 staff members of the Chinese multinational conglomerate Tiens to a four-day holiday in France. An organizational masterpiece.
The impressive figures: Li Jinyuan needed no less than 140 hotels to accommodate all of his employees. The Louvre was even chartered for several hours for a 'private visit'. They dined in style in the beautiful Pavillon Cambon (close to the Place Vendôme; editor's note).
From there, the company went to the Côte d'Azur: in Cannes and Monaco 79 four- and five star hotels were booked, which totalled 4,760 rooms. Shuttling the tourists to the famous Promenade des Anglais required no less than 147 coaches. It is estimated that this 'incentive' injected the French economy with about 33 million euros. All of this just to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the firm.
"We hope that many corporations will take an example"
Laurent Fabius, the French minister of Foreign Affairs, brimmed with pride as he personally welcomed his Chinese benefactor into his residence. "This is exceptionally interesting for France: not just culturally and economically, but also in terms of exchange between both countries. Tourism is a major employment-generating industry and I hope that many large Chinese corporations will take mister Jinyuan's example."
Jinyuan is one of the richest men in China. Tiens ('celestial lion') started in 1995 by selling Chinese medicinal products, food supplements and instant coffee. Since then, the company has become a major player in the field of biotech and pharmacy, but also of logistics, real estate and finance.
