founder of Chinese game developer XD plans to relocate overseas - internal memo

XD

27/06/2022 08:52

(Adds additional comment from XD)
    By Josh Ye
    HONG KONG, June 27 (Reuters) - The chief executive and
co-founder of Shanghai-based Chinese gaming firm XD Inc
 2400.HK  plans to leave China next year, according to an
internal notice seen by Reuters, citing family reasons and
rising gaming opportunities overseas.
    Huang Yimeng, 40, who was ranked last year by Forbes to be
worth $1.2 billion, said he was making preparations to move
abroad "after the next summer break", without disclosing the
destination. 
    His announcement, which XD confirmed and said primarily
stemmed from family reasons, comes however as a bruising
crackdown by Beijing on the gaming industry prompts many local
companies to look abroad. China's zero-COVID policy, which gave
rise to a two-month-long lockdown in Shanghai, is also driving
an emigration wave.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2W615N urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2XP1UZ urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2WG1AC
    XD, which Huang co-founded in 2009, made a name for itself
in China as a publisher of small independent games and was among
the first companies to receive a license earlier this year after
Beijing lifted a nearly nine-month freeze on gaming approvals.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2XU0UZ
    "I personally place equal priority on career and family, and
in the future our company's overseas operations will count for a
higher proportion," Huang said in the memo, adding that his
vision was for XD to become a global company. 
    While he did not mention Beijing's regulatory policies or
Shanghai's lockdown, which he lived through, he said he hoped
China's COVID policy could be relaxed. 
    "The ideal situation is that our domestic COVID policies can
be more relaxed a year from now, and international relations can
be more calm and open, in which case we all can frequently move
about depending on the needs of our work and life," Huang said
in the memo. 
    He declined to comment further when reached by Reuters and
referred to the company's statement. 
    Huang will frequently travel between China and overseas and
does not plan to take up a foreign nationality, XD said, adding
that his plan was unrelated to the company's current situation
and future outlook.
    His position will also remain unchanged and the company
first forged a plan to expand overseas in 2021, it added.     

 (Reporting by Josh Ye; Editing by Brenda Goh, Sherry
Jacob-Phillips and Susan Fenton)
 ((Josh.Ye@thomsonreuters.com;))