When Kyle Bass, a Dallas-based hedge fund executive and a staunch critic of the Chinese Communist Party, first found out about Sun Guangxin’s Texas properties in December 2020, he made sure to make as much noise about it as he could. Now, close to two years later, not much has changed, and Bass is still sounding the alarm.
Sun Guangxin, 59 years old, is a Xinjiang-based real estate tycoon with an estimated net worth of US$2.3 billion as of April 2022, according to Forbes. Sun is the head of Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Group (Guanghui), the conglomerate that controls Guanghui Energy and China Grand Automotive Services.
Prior to starting his first business venture, Sun served in the People’s Liberation Army from his teens until the late 1980s. He maintained close relationships with army and government officials, which ensured business success following his military career. Reports say that Sun had former army officers and government officials running his various ventures, and that in the 1990s, Sun created a chapter of the Chinese Communist Party within his company. Winning the favor of Xinjiang party officials, Sun was able to grow his empire rapidly.
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In Texas, Sun began buying up land in the state’s Val Verde County in 2016. His companies have reportedly spent as much as US$110 million on about 140,000 acres using different subsidiaries. It’s an area near the Mexico border, populated by about 50,000 people, with not much else but ranches…and the Laughlin Air Force Base, which is used as a training facility for military pilots. This is Bass’ main concern.
Sun had initially intended to use the land to build a wind farm. The Blue Hills Wind Development, which was to be supervised by Sun’s GH America Energy LLC, planned to build five permanent meteorological towers, each about 500 feet tall; and 46 wind turbines, with some going up to 700 feet tall. This massive development would’ve plugged into the state’s power grid, which then triggered a law, a direct response to Sun’s plans, to be passed about a year ago — the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act. The law prevents entities connected to “hostile nations” (e.g. China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia) to access Texas’ electrical grid and other critical infrastructure, which includes waste management systems as well as computer networks.
But Bass is points out that Sun’s land’s proximity to the Laughlin Air Base should be a National Security concern, citing that it will allow them to “map (with precision), anything that flies by within 50miles.”
Information for this briefing was found via Twitter, Forbes, and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
