Yin Mingshan never thinks he is too old to do business. He is even dreaming to be the oldest entrepreneur in the world.

"As far as I know, the oldest entrepreneur is 88 years old at present. I want to break the record," says 70-year-old Yin, the tall scholarly looking head of Chongqing Lifan Group, one of China's biggest automobile and motorcycle enterprises.

The motor tycoon is also a "Red-cap merchant" which in Chinese means a businessman with the government background.

Yin started his motorbusiness when he was 55 and at 65 he was elected as the vice-chairman of Chongqing municipality's second committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He was the first private entrepreneur with a title of a municipal government official in China.

Last year, Chongqing Lifan Group hit a production and sales record of 1.57 million units of autobikes - its core business, maintaining its leadership in China's motorcycle industry.

The revenue of 12.16 billion yuan, the production and sales of 3 million units of engines, and exports worth $409.6 million in 2007 also set the pace in the segments.

Early in 2000, Yin was ranked by Forbes as the 50th richest man in China with an estimated private wealth of $42 million.

However, when people all saw him as a successful motorcycle entrepreneur, he announced he wanted to tap into another fiercely competitive sector - automobiles, in 2005, when he was 67.

"I just see the automobile as the prime of my career," says Yin.

In January 2006 the first Lifan 520, an economy sedan, rolled out off the production line in Chongqing.

During the Beijing auto show last month, Lifan released three new models, including a mini car and a hatchback.

Lifan's SUV (sports utility vehicle) and MPV (multi-purpose vehicle), manufactured in Lifan's production base in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, are scheduled to hit the market early next year.

Yin maintained his position in Forbes Top 500 rich individuals last year in China with 1.79 billion yuan in wealth.

The automobile business boosted Yin's dream of building a 10 billion yuan enterprise.

Besides manufacturing, Yin is also passionate about soccer and charity work. He owns the city's only Chinese prime league soccer club and has donated more than 50 million yuan to various charities.

The first steps

Yin's first business earnings were 58 years ago.

When he was 12, to improve his disadvantaged life with his single mother in his hometown Fuling district in rural Chongqing, Yin borrowed half a yuan from a neighbor to sell needles between villages.

He met a young guy sourcing eggs from the villages to the city and Yin suggested a mutually beneficial proposition: Yin gave the egg man money he earned from needles for more eggs to buy. In return the egg man bought more needles and some other life necessities of such kind for Yin to sell in villages. The partnership brought profits, which gave Yin money to pay for his education.

However, when he was ready to enter university, the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) took place.

"I was like a cat in a closed room, quietly waiting for my opportunity," says Yin.

Until 1979, he got a position as an English teacher, and then an editor in a local publishing house.

At the end of 1985, he opened his own book company, and became the first private bookseller in Chongqing and soon earned his first fortune.

In 1992, he thought his opportunity had really arrived. He gave up his prosperous book business, which he regarded as small potatoes and founded Lifan group. No matter that he knew almost nothing about motorcycle engines.

The journey begins

When Yin plunged all his 200,000 yuan into his new motorcycle business, he had only nine employees and a rented workshop of no more than 40 sq m.

"However, I told them, I will produce the best motorcycle engine in the world," says Yin.

He began with assembling motorcycle engines and at the same time designed his own engine.

In a short time, Yin accumulated 5 million yuan. He threw one tenth of it into research and development of China's first 100 liter four stroke motor engines.

On top of it, Yin later invested 1 million yuan into developing another engine. The two engines returned 31 million yuan to Yin.

From then on, innovation became Lifan's pre-requisite as well as competitive edge.

"Last year, we plunged 450 million yuan, 4.6 percent of our total revenue, into research and development. Our 4,061 patents put Lifan on top of all the private enterprises in China," says Yin.

Branding is another focus of Yin's business strategy.

"At very beginning, I told my staff that the brand is essential for Lifan. If we look forward to a long-term development, the recognition of consumers and the market is very important," says Yin. "So Lifan is always attaching importance to the quality of products and after-sale services."

In 2004, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine designated Lifan as a China Famous Brand. In 2006, with a brand value of 2.13 billion yuan, Lifan was ranked 78th in China's Top 100 Valuable Brands in a study conducted by the China Brand Research Institute.

Yin's success in no more than 15 years and his serious-minded and precise attitude of doing business helped him be elected as chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce for Motorcycles when it was established in November 2006.

Successful marketing is the third key to Lifan's development.

"In my view, manufacturing is only 30 percent of my business. How to sell more and at a higher price is the way to survive in the competitive market," says Yin.

In late 1990s, when local motorcycle producers were still fixated on domestic price wars, Yin was looking into the overseas market.

In 2001, Lifan's export volume reached $202 million and was the first enterprise to break the $100 million export barrier. And in 2005, its export volume of $260 million only accounted for 35 percent of its total sales, however, the exports contributed 75 percent of the total profit.

"I aim to increase the exports to half of my total business," Yin says.

March into automobile industry

According to Yin, when the per capita GDP is between $400 and $2,000, it is ideal for the motorcycle market. More than $2,000 means it is time for autos.

"In Japan, 30 per cent of people rode motorcycles when the country's per capita GDP was at $2,000. However, when the GDP hit $20,000, no more than 1 per cent of Japanese owned motorcycles," says Yin.

Yin looks at Japanese Honda as the model for Chongqing Lifan to follow.

"As the motorcycle leader in the world, Honda's annual motorcycle sales revenue only arrived at $2.5 billion, accounting for one-ninth of its auto business. And the largest auto manufactures can earn over 60 times more revenue than Honda's two-wheel gain."

To prepare for its four-wheel auto business, Chongqing Lifan invested more than 1 billion yuan three years before it got the certificate from National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to begin production.

"We spent 300 million yuan on design, tests, research and development for the new product and 700 million yuan on the purchase of land and facilities," Yin says.

The NDRC had not approved any enterprise for auto production for more than two years. Geely Group Co spent almost four years applying for the production permit and it took Chery Automobile Co two years.

However, Lifan spent no more than one year to get the permit to then design a global synchronous launch for its first sedan, the Lifan 520, in January 2006.

"First, we are lucky to have the central government's support to develop the western regions," Yin says. "Secondly it is just at the time the central government was encouraging the domestic manufacturers to develop independent innovation. Lastly, and most importantly, Lifan's preparation on product design, model development, investment scale all meet the requirements of the NDRC," says Yin.

According to Yin, Lifan plans to invest a total 2.4 billion yuan in three phases for its automobile project. It has finished its stamping, welding, coating and assembly production lines with an annual capacity of 150,000 units of vehicles.

As with the motorcycle business, Yin also takes innovation, branding and exports very seriously when dealing with his automobile business.

"We set up an automobile research institute for independent innovation," says Yin. "Moreover, when we debuted our first sedan, we began exporting it."

Yin hopes within five years, his automobile exports can surpass Chery's.

"But I will never give up the motorcycle segment. I just hope some day my four-wheel business can be nine times of the two-wheel business. So I still have a long way to go," says Yin.

(China Daily 05/19/2008 page12)