Dr. Tony Xia.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/05/20/aston-villas-65m-takeover-to-be-scrutinised-by-premier-league-an/

I think this shows that the whispers and guesses are adding up to a 2+2=5 situation. At some stage soon we probably need a joint statement from Dr Xia and Steve Hollis to clear some increasingly wild speculation.

It may not be the way the Chinese are used to doing business, but it's a fairly standard British welcome to TX from all sections of our media.

It shows the importance of giving totally accurate and 100% researched press releases.

Bit of a non-story that. All it means is that he's going to face the usual Fit and Proper Persons' test all people must pass before taking ownership of a league club. Our situation means that he must be checked out by both bodies.

Percy may as well just read here. I said earlier Wed need to be checked by both as we're still part of the EPL until early June. Like you say a nothing story based off twitter panic.

As to a joint statement VB it would be very nice and reassuring indeed, but it wouldn't do anymore than that. The club have reworded the PR release and I think that's all we will get. As far as both parties are concerned DD Has been done by both sides, lawyers have checked it all and they signed the deal. Hollis said they wouldn't have signed unless absolutely certain this was a good thing for villa. I think a poorly worded press release and the fear of the unknown have really got people's paranoia going. The tests will be carried out and there'll be more rigourous in the current climate and we as fans are going to have to trust that. I'm Ok with the press asking as many questions as possible though if it's with good intent and to get knowledge (knowledge is power and all that shizz) if it's to just trouble make then it's a wasted process.

I'm sure the real test will be over time. We all thought Lerner was amazing at first and now we're in the Championship. These new guys should be afforded the same courtesy. We don't have to turn the other cheek, however some of the borderline xenophobia I've read on twitter today is an embarrassment.

The guy deserves longer than 48 hrs before being cast as the next Carson Young, equally it will take some time before we can say he's going to be a super owner.

The next 2 weeks should give us more information. Until then the guy needs to be given a chance. Cautious optimism at the very least.

I've been wondering about these 4 "missing" companies. On May 12th Reuters posted three brief announcements about Lotus Health Industry Holdings.

1) 8 million yuan (less than a million pounds to set up an agricultural company with an "individual". Lotus own 80%.

2) 50 million yuan (just over 5 million pounds) to set up a 100% owned subsidiary "management consultancy" company.

3) 8 million yuan (just under 1 million pounds) to set up a food related company with an "individual. Lotus own 80%.

So technically there you have three more companies controlled by Lotus and Dr.X, albeit they only cost 7 million pounds to set up.

It may be that the reason why Lotus is posting loss predictions of their current magnitude, is that they are being used as a start up fund for RECON's new investments. Lotus made a profit of 16.5 million pounds in the previous years trading, so a swing of approximately 70 million pounds to a 55 million pound current loss would take some explaining. Could part of that explanation be recent RECON investments?

The Chinese economy has had some difficulties in the past year so I think a lot of Chinese companies (especially ones who have stock holdings) will have ended up running to a loss.

Good work on the Lotus findings VB, if you look at the wider group there is already enough subsidiaries there for any of them to be acquired by the Recon Group. As they tender and win more 'state' work, they seemingly enter into more joint/collaborative projects worth a lot of cash. Lotus is still worth nearly 900bn dollars.

I think as with all speculation prior to Dr Xia announcement and the same with transfers etc, people need to gather info and then go and read up and make an informed, rational decision as opposed to seemingly believing everything they read.

For me I'm still very excited, with a dash of being cautious. My belief in Hollis and the lawyers doing thorough DD, coupled with a slight understanding of how the Chinese operate business wise and the secrecy involved in divulging finances, keeps me very optimistic. Add to this the well documented desire China has to get into the football market and in England particularly, I don't believe they would allow one of their own to go 'rouge' and potentially scupper their ambitious plans.

The information we have as fans is a tiny fraction of what Hollis and the lawyers will be in receipt of, not to forget the Premier league and the Football League. It's only scary to some as they don't have the information. If we give it time I'm sure all the info will check out. Hollis is no fool and he wouldn't volunteer such a glowing recommendation of the incoming owners plans and huge business acumen if he owned one dodgy loss making firm. Not a chance in my mind.

I can't wait for next week to see and hear more. Let's remember the press release was rushed out as a result of a leak and that was done at villas end. Nothing Dr Xia himself has said at this point has been proven to be untrue. For all we know that was villas wording of his buisness set up. It's since being modified and still reads very impressively. The government/State weave a thread through all the Recon Group. That I'm convinced on.

I don't usually do this, but I thoroughly recommend that you guys get yourselves over to Villa Talk and read a new thread entitled : Insight into Villa's takeover by Tony Xia - How football as a business is run in China.

There are a collection of posts by a Chinese guy named Deisler123. He is quite simply the most erudite and knowledgeable person on all things to do with Chinese football.

You will learn and enjoy at the same time .... Please come back here though when you've absorbed all the info . Then we can discuss the issues raised in our usual thoughtful CABA manner.

My thanks to VT for hosting such an interesting thread.

GadgetMan wrote:Here's the main Recon site http://www.reconig.com/index.htm

seems like that website been down for a lot of today! sorry for being stupid but what does ig stand as typed in google and cant find that site, only site i can find is http://www.therecongroup.com/. dont know if the site i found has got anything to do with them: ?:

The boy is worth a few quid, just doesn't like to flash it

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3602825/Saviour-dreamer-Sportsmail-talks-Aston-Villa-s-owner-waiting-Dr-Tony-Xia.html

villabromsgrove wrote:I don't usually do this, but I thoroughly recommend that you guys get yourselves over to Villa Talk and read a new thread entitled : Insight into Villa's takeover by Tony Xia - How football as a business is run in China.

There are a collection of posts by a Chinese guy named Deisler123. He is quite simply the most erudite and knowledgeable person on all things to do with Chinese football.

You will learn and enjoy at the same time .... Please come back here though when you've absorbed all the info . Then we can discuss the issues raised in our usual thoughtful CABA manner.

My thanks to VT for hosting such an interesting thread.

Just caught up with it and agree that it's a fascinating insight. It confirms some theories and speculation we have made on here such as how football (as linked to the Chinese state's sporting ambitions) can grant an owner political prestige. It also gives some food for thought for a point I made on here a couple of days ago asking whether we would be bringing Chinese players in. They are so highly praised in the Chinese league that their transfer fees might prove prohibitive. That said, it might mean we will pursue the development of young Chinese players through our youth setup.

I also found this bit interesting:

To start with, all land in China is owned by government according to the law. If you want to develop a land, for example, in Beijing, you need to buy from government. The problem now is, how would you compete with more than 100+ mega companies that all work in this business with more than billions dollars? The answer is obvious, you need to convince the seller (government) in one way or another, either your plan is impressive, or you pay more, or …. (you can imagine the rest of the methods, right?). So after a few projects like this, you became a millionaire, having worked with the government for a few times – you need approval from government, you need borrow from the bank (most owned by government), you need to have contractors (some owned by government), and I can go on forever – you see the point here? You cannot do business without government, which is the regulatory body. Is it necessarily a bad thing? Not at all – it has proven to be successful in the last 20 years. Could it be better without the involvement of government? Maybe, but it is impossible to happen or prove. Why spend our brain cells on something that will never happen?

This links in with what Steve Hollis was saying a few days ago. Part of the reason that Xia ended up being the preferred bidder was the impressiveness of his plans that seemed to have blown Hollis and Lerner's socks off. The unbreakable linkage between state and those wanting to do business might also add some extra fuel on the fire of the 'we have been bought by te Chinese government' theory.

Here's the thread on VT: https://www.villatalk.com/topic/15025-insight-to-villa%E2%80%99s-take-over-by-tony-xia-how-football-as-a-business-is-run-in-china/?page=1

South London Villan wrote:The boy is worth a few quid,  just doesn't like to flash it

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3602825/Saviour-dreamer-Sportsmail-talks-Aston-Villa-s-owner-waiting-Dr-Tony-Xia.html

That's a good balanced report based on fact rather than speculation arising from an information vacuum. Chimes in with a couple of points that I speculated on above around the posts on VT. Pursuing young players, links to president etc.

What I think is key to Dr. X's ambitions (and I am saying the bloody obvious here is a prompt return to the PL. That will mean more extensive coverage in China that will enable his ambitions to be achieved.

I think you're right SLV. Tony Xia has taken a gamble on an immediate return to the Premier League. All his plans hinge on a high media profile. The novelty of a Chinese fully owned football club playing in the Championship will have a short shelf life. It all hinges on promotion.

The next few weeks will clearly demonstrate whether TX has the nous and pockets to do the job. His appointment of a CEO and Manager will be the first indication of his ability to identify the right people.

lukevilla wrote:

GadgetMan wrote:Here's the main Recon site http://www.reconig.com/index.htm

seems like that website been down for a lot of today! sorry for being stupid but what does ig stand as typed in google and cant find that site, only site i can find is http://www.therecongroup.com/. dont know if the site i found has got anything to do with them: ?:  

Works for me Luke? Just clicked directly on the link. The 'ig' stands for 'International Group' I believe. The second link isn't related to DR Xia or the Recon Group in China mate.

Cheers for the link to the thread on VT, about to have a late breakfast, so I'll take a read whilst I eat. Quite refreshing to be able to link to other forums if there's good content, why not share it UTV

There is an article from the Daily Mail saying that he has plans to build a museum and theme park in Aston! Also, he says the villa takeover is nothing compared to a $3.5bn takeover of a US Logistics firm.

He also says that he has £480m from the sale of TEAMAX that is available to possibly spend on villa. UTV