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Xiaomi Chief Appears to Lose 1 Billion Yuan Bet

  • Wager made in 2013 looks to have been won by Gree’s Dong
  • Xiaomi Chairman Lei yet to acknowledge defeat after earnings
Lei Jun 

Lei Jun 

Photographer: Shawn Koh/Bloomberg
Bloomberg News

It appears Xiaomi Corp.’s chairman Lei Jun may have lost a 1 billion yuan ($149 million) bet.

He wagered in a high-profile televised event in December 2013 that the smartphone maker’s revenue in five years would exceed that of Gree Electric Appliances Inc., predicting that an online-driven world of consumer electronics was about to disrupt the economy.