Today, as a trade war and potential truce roil markets, Bian and his brokerage, Zhongcai Futures Co, are responsible for the largest net long position in copper contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, according to people familiar with the matter and bourse data. After 10 months of purchases, at the end of Friday they were long nearly 90,000 tons in copper futures, counting Bian’s own investment and funds he manages through Zhongcai — enough to dwarf any peers.
A reclusive Chinese billionaire whose prescient gold trades turned into an eye-catching windfall has now become the country’s biggest copper bull, amassing a bet worth nearly US$1 billion in a market jolted by escalating competition between the US and China.
Bian Ximing, who made an early fortune in plastic tubes before seeking a quiet life in Gibraltar, has made waves over the last two years with his investment in Chinese gold futures, betting on what he argued would be a global effort to reduce reliance on the dollar and counter inflation worries. His fund came in just as bullion was beginning a record-breaking ascent — and made roughly US$1.5 billion in profit in the process, according to Bloomberg calculations.
