Xiaomi (XIACF 0.78%) is one of the world's largest smartphone makers. The Chinese consumer electronics maker ranked third behind Apple (AAPL 0.06%) and Samsung (SSNL.F -28.74%) by market share in 2023. While it doesn't sell smartphones in the U.S., it's a leader in its home market and a major player in the global marketplace.
The company started in 2010 to disrupt the global phone market. Co-founder Lei Jun founded the company because he was dissatisfied with other mobile phone products and believed he could make a better one. With 12.5% of the global smartphone market by shipments in 2024, Xiaomi has clearly developed products that many find better than those produced by other smartphone makers.
Xiaomi's co-founder remains one of the company's top owners. Here's a look at the company's owners, its board of directors, and how to invest money into the Chinese consumer electronics company.
Board of Directors
Who owns it?
Who is the owner of Xiaomi?
Xiaomi launched an initial public offering (IPO) in August 2018 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and has been a publicly traded company ever since. So, its shareholders own the technology stock.
However, co-founder, chairman, and CEO Lei Jun is the controlling shareholder. He owns enough Class A shares to control 62.3% of the voting power. Meanwhile, co-founder and vice chairman Lin Bin holds 6.9% of the voting power. Although they don't own a majority of its stock, they ultimately control the company's destiny.
Largest shareholders
Who are the largest shareholders?
Xiaomi is a publicly traded company with many shareholders, including insiders (company officers and members of the board of directors) and institutional investors. Two of the company's co-founders own a meaningful stake in the company:
- Lei Jun: The co-founder, chairman, and CEO owns 4.1 billion Class A shares. Those shares represent 62.3% of the company's voting rights. He also controls entities that own about 1.9 billion Class B shares.
- Lin Bin: The co-founder and vice chairman owns 455.8 million Class A shares. They represent 6.9% of the company's voting rights. He also directly owns 30.3 million Class B shares.
The co-founders can convert their Class A shares into Class B shares at a 1-to-1 ratio. The conversion ratio implies they own a combined 22.4% of the company, in addition to their sizeable stake in Class B shares.
There isn't much publicly available information about the institutional investors of the Hong Kong-listed stock. However, several large U.S. mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hold shares of the Chinese mobile phone maker. The top five U.S. fund holders in early 2024 are:
- Vanguard International Stock Index-Total International Stock Index (NASDAQMUTFUND:VTIA.X): The Vanguard-managed mutual fund holds 200.4 million shares (1% of its outstanding shares).
- Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund (NASDAQ:VEMA.X): The Vanguard-managed mutual fund holds 198.1 million shares (1%).
- iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG 0.24%): The BlackRock (BLK -0.98%)-managed ETF holds 138.3 million shares (0.7%).
- iShares China Large Cap ETF (FXI 2.93%): This BlackRock-managed ETF holds 80.6 million shares (0.4%).
- iShares MSCI China ETF (NYSEMKT:MCHI): This BlackRock-managed ETF holds 44.8 million shares (0.2%).
Board of directors
Who is on the Board of Directors for Xiaomi?
Xiaomi's board of directors has seven members as of early 2024, including three of the company's co-founders. Here's a closer look at each member:
- Lei Jun is Xiaomi's founder, chairman, and CEO and a renowned technology entrepreneur in China. In 2000, he founded the online retail platform joyo.com, which he later sold to Amazon (AMZN -1.27%) in 2004. He was also previously an executive at Kingsoft Corporation Limited (KSFTF 0.09%), holding several positions, including CEO and chairman of the board.
- Lin Bin is a co-founder and vice chairman of the board. He previously served as the group's president before assuming that role. Before co-founding Xiaomi, he was an engineering director at Alphabet's (GOOG 0.89%)(GOOGL 0.97%) Google and worked at Microsoft (MSFT -0.49%).
- Liu De is a co-founder and executive director. He currently serves as the minister of the Group Leadership Department and is responsible for, among other things, the improvement, selection, training, and performance assessment of intermediate and senior staff. Before helping co-found Xiaomi, he established the Industrial Design Department at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, where he served as dean. He also founded and led two companies (Beijing Xinfengrui Industrial Design Co. and Rethink Concept).
- Liu Qin is a non-executive director who joined the board in 2010. He currently sits on the boards of several of Xiaomi's subsidiaries and other publicly traded companies. He co-founded 5Y Capital, one of the earliest investors in Xiaomi, and currently serves as one of its managing directors.
- Chen Dongsheng has been an independent non-executive member of the board of directors since June 2018. He founded Taikang Insurance Group in 1996 and is currently its chairman and CEO.
- Wong Shun Tak has been an independent non-executive member of the board of directors since June 2018 and serves as an independent non-executive director of several of its subsidiaries. He previously served as the CFO of Kingsoft and is currently a member of its board. He also served as the vice president of finance and corporate controller of Alibaba Group (BABA 7.05%).
- Cai Jinqing is an independent non-executive director. She has served as the president of Kering Greater China since 2018. She also serves on the boards of several other organizations.
How to invest
How to invest in Xiaomi?
It's possible to invest in Xiaomi. However, investing in the publicly traded Chinese company is more challenging because its stock isn't listed on a U.S. stock exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
The company listed its stock on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange when it completed its IPO in 2018. So, you'd need a brokerage account capable of trading shares of companies listed on foreign exchanges or buying shares listed on the OTC markets exchange. Here's a list of the best brokers for international trading.
Opening a brokerage account is one of the first steps in learning how to invest in stocks. Another crucial step is to research the company. You'll need to thoroughly research the Chinese consumer technology company before you buy shares.
You must be comfortable with the added risks of investing internationally, including foreign exchange risk, potential oversight and corporate governance differences, and possible trading liquidity problems. You also must be comfortable investing in a company whose two major co-founders hold more than 70% of the voting power, which gives them the power to vote against an item that a majority of shareholders might approve.
Other factors to consider when researching a company include its profitability, balance sheet, and competitors. If you're unsure you want to invest directly in the company, you could gain passive exposure through a tech ETF focused on Chinese stocks.
Once you've opened and funded an internationally capable brokerage account and thoroughly researched the company, it's time to buy shares. Before you do, you'll need to determine how much you want to invest in the company.
A good rule of thumb is to have a diversified portfolio of at least 25 stocks with roughly equivalent allocations. For example, if you plan on investing $10,000 into building a diversified portfolio, you'd invest around $400 in each stock, including Xiaomi.
Related investing topics
When you're ready to buy shares, you'll open the order page at your brokerage account and fill out all the required information, including:
- The number of shares you want to buy (or the amount you want to invest in fractional shares if your broker allows that for an international stock).
- The correct stock ticker for Xiaomi.
- The order type (a market order or limit order). The Motley Fool recommends a market order that will guarantee you purchase stock at its current price.
Take a moment to double-check everything to make sure the information is correct. When you're ready, click submit to become a shareholder of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi.
FAQ
Who owns Xiaomi FAQ
Who is the current owner of Xiaomi?
Xiaomi is a publicly traded company owned by its shareholders. However, the company's co-founders control its voting power. Chairman and CEO Lei Jun owned 4.1 billion Class A shares, giving him 62.3% of the company's voting rights. He also controls entities that own about 1.9 billion Class B shares.
Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Lin Bin owned 455.8 million Class A shares, representing 6.9% of the company's voting rights. He also owns 30.3 million Class B shares.
Is Xiaomi a trusted brand?
Xiaomi is a trusted brand in many countries. It shipped the third-largest number of mobile phones in the world in 2023. Meanwhile, it ranks highly as a trusted brand in many of its markets. For example, it ranked as India's most trusted mobile phone brand and was the second-most trusted brand in that country overall for three straight years.
However, some concerns exist about data privacy and whether it sends personal data to China. Privacy concerns are one of the many reasons Xiaomi doesn't sell mobile phones in the U.S.
Which phone brand is owned by Xiaomi?
Like Apple and Samsung, Xiaomi makes many self-branded phones. For example, some of its top phones in early 2024 were Xiaomi 13, Xiaomi 12 Pro, Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro, and Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G.
Is Xiaomi the same as Samsung?
Xiaomi is not the same company as Samsung. Xiaomi is a Chinese consumer electronics company founded in 2010 by Lei Jun. It had the third-largest share of the global smartphone market in 2023 at 12.5%, behind Apple (20.1%) and Samsung (19.4%).
Samsung is a South Korean company founded in 1938. The conglomerate makes electronics, builds ships, provides life insurance, and operates South Korea's oldest theme park, among many other businesses.
