Huang was born to a poor family in Lianjiang County, Fujian, China.[2] Huang initially worked as a street vendor in China.[2]
Business career
As a trader in the Philippines
In 1986, Huang went to the Philippines, where he worked as a trader.[2]
Return to China
At age 40, Huang moved back to China and established the Century Golden Resources Group. His company had a joint venture with the local government of Fuzhou to build his first project, the Guotai Tower amidst a commercial property boom in Southern China in the early 1990s. Huang built more commercial properties in the next three years. During this period he also started to build residential projects before new restrictions on commercial development was imposed in 1994. Huang did not rely much on outside financing, preferring to use his own capital. He became the largest private developer in Fuzhou.[2]
He returned to focus on Beijing as a developer in 1998. He initially supported the Shiji Jiayuan housing development, then invested 17 billion Rmb in the Century City project. In 2004, he completed the Beijing Golden Resource Shopping Mall. The mall was next to Century City, a residential area. This model was repeated in Kunming, Changsha, Guiyang, and Hefei.[2]
According to the Financial Times, he played a "central role in the revival of his country's ties with the Philippines." He funded drug treatment centers during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte[3] in 2016.[4] Both treatment centers were hailed by Duterte as a sign of Chinese friendship, with Huang not offering details, and saying he was funding the centers to improve ties between the two nations.[5] According to Duterte, Huang did not ask for anything in return for the mega facility.[6]
In October 2016, Chinese state media said that Huang's company had paid bribes to Bai Enpai, the party secretary of Yunnan Province. In June 2017, it was announced that he was being investigated by the state[3] over corruption allegations.[citation needed] That week, he was removed from his role in Fujian province political consultative conference.[3][7] He was also arrested.[3]