Profit at Hong Kong-listed company plunged and it suffered from bad publicity at home one of its cars caught on fire after a collision in Shenzhen, which is located just north of Hong Kong.
He founded Geely in 1998 without a government license, then bought out a Hong Kong-listed shell company, giving him access to capital markets and the flexibility to grow as he wished.
The proposed ERA Mining deal also comes after another proposed large investment in another Hong Kong-listed mining equipment company by Joy Global of Milwaukee earlier this year.