- Single-largest personal donation ever received by Wuhan University
- Second alma mater donation by the Foundation this year, totaling US$110 million in grants to promote advanced education, health research, and growth-driven innovation
Charles Huang, PhD, through his philanthropic foundation—Charles Huang Foundation (CHF)—made a donation of US$40 million to Wuhan University of China at the celebration ceremony of the university’s 128th anniversary, to express his appreciation to his alma mater and to promote the development of advanced education, health research and growth-driven innovation. This philanthropic gift is the single-largest personal donation ever received by Wuhan University. Together with the US$70 million landmark grant given by CHF to the University of Strathclyde in the UK in September, Dr Huang has donated a total of US$110 million to his two alma maters through his philanthropic foundation this year.
The donation was formally made at a virtual signing ceremony held between Wuhan University campus in China and the Foundation headquarters in Pasadena, California, earlier today.
The US$40 million funding will be used to provide significant and long-lasting support for Wuhan University to attract and recruit top scholars, develop and create innovative and entrepreneurial talents with exceptional leadership skills, and advance research and teaching capabilities, especially in the field of Management Science at Wuhan University’s School of Economics and Management.
Dr Huang, Founder and Chairman of CHF said, “My study in Wuhan University signified the starting point of my journey to the world beyond and I deeply believe that all my achievements are based upon the excellent education that I received.”
“Today I’m fulfilling the promise I made to donate at least $100 million of my personal wealth to my alma maters in China and the UK upon my firm achieving tremendous business goals within 5 years after its formation,” added Dr Huang.
Dr Huang established the private equity firm, Pasaca Capital Inc., in Los Angeles at the end of 2016. Since then, Pasaca has delivered on Dr Huang’s vision to set the world record for rapid growth on revenue, speed and scale within the first 5 years. Pasaca has now earned its place among other legendary businesses globally.
“As his alma mater, we are very proud that Wuhan University helped to cultivate such a global visionary entrepreneur like Dr Huang. We would like to express our sincere thanks to our alumnus Dr Huang and Charles Huang Foundation for this tremendously generous donation to the university, which will help us cultivate first-class innovative talents, enhance our capabilities in scientific research and innovation, and contribute to Wuhan University’s development into a world-class university with uniquely Chinese characteristics,” said Professor Dou Xiankang, President of Wuhan University.
Following the completion of his bachelor’s degree in economics at Wuhan University, and MBA and PhD studies in the UK, Dr Huang joined James Capel (Now HSBC Securities) in Hong Kong where he became a pioneer in Chinese equity research. Later joining Credit Lyonnais and BNP Paribas he was recognized as having “the Midas touch” because of his unrivaled stock selection skills and impeccable stock market calls. Dr Huang participated in and led over 20 IPOs prior to becoming a celebrated business executive in private and publicly traded companies.
In 2016, Dr Huang founded Pasaca Capital Inc. in Pasadena, California. With a focus on medical devices, pharmaceuticals, TMT, industrial & automation, and food ingredient sectors, Pasaca Capital seeks to improve the human condition globally. One of Pasaca Capital’s portfolio companies, Innova Medical Group Inc. is the global leader and the largest supplier of COVID-19 antigen rapid testing in the world with manufacturing facilities in the US, the UK, France, Singapore, and China. To date, Innova Medical Group has delivered more than two billion rapid tests worldwide.
On November 1, 2021, Dr Huang was named “2021 Philanthropreneur of the Year” by the California State Assembly in recognition of the exceptional leadership he demonstrated while building the California-based private equity firm Pasaca Capital Inc. into a global evergreen fund with unprecedented scale and speed, and his commitment to improving the human condition by making large donations through his foundation. Pasaca Capital was also named “2021 Business of the Year” by the California State Assembly for its extraordinary contributions to the State of California and the world.
On November 11, 2021, Innova Medical Group, Inc. established a global joint venture, Sino-Innovax Biotech Pte Ltd, with Sinopharm’s China National Biotech Group (CNBG) with a focus on providing critical vaccines to the world population, including the highly sought-after World Health Organization-approved COVID-19 vaccines.
For more information about Dr Huang and his foundation, please visit www.charleshuangfoundation.org.
About Charles Huang Foundation’s Donation to Wuhan University
The US$40 million donation will mainly support six programs:
- Pasaca/Innova Endowed Chair Fund: Attract and recruit world-leading scholars to advance research and teaching in management science, natural sciences, and medicine/medical/health-related areas.
- Innova Excellence Scholarship Program: A merit-based scholarship program to reward the most outstanding and innovative students to encourage innovation in scientific research.
- Innova Award for Undergraduate Innovation Achievement: Reward students with exceptional “Innovation, Originality and Entrepreneurship” achievements and help students develop innovation and entrepreneurship competence.
- Innova International Exchange Scholarship Program: Help Wuhan University develop more creative and innovative talents with a global vision and international competitiveness through sponsoring scholarship exchanges with world-leading universities.
- Innova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Construct a new building that will provide a best-in-class public platform and facilities in Mainland China to support undergraduate independent innovation, school-enterprise collaborative education, and entrepreneurship.
- Pasaca Education Fund for the Economics and Management School of Wuhan University: A special Education Fund exclusively for the Economics and Management School to attract and recruit top-rated scholars and outstanding talents in the fields of Management Science, facilitate international exchange programs, and fund the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award.
About Pasaca Capital Inc.
Headquartered in Pasadena, CA, US, Pasaca Capital Inc. is an evergreen private equity investment firm focused on innovative technologies and products that benefit the world. With a focus on medical devices, pharmaceuticals, TMT, industrial & automation, and food ingredient sectors, Pasaca Capital seeks to improve the human condition globally. Pasaca portfolio companies operate in Europe, Middle East, SE Asia, and North America. Portfolio companies include Innova Medical Group Inc, Sweegen Inc, Meepo Inc., ATL Group Ltd, ASOCS, Caton Technology and others.
For more information about Pasaca, please visit www.pasacacapital.com.
About Innova Medical Group, Inc.
Innova Medical Group, Inc. is a global health screening and diagnostic innovator driven to dramatically improve health outcomes worldwide with equitable, high-value testing solutions. A uniquely strategic and iterative approach enables Innova Medical Group to create, build and deploy a myriad of accessible tests customized to meet and empower users at their point of need. With a panoramic vision spanning the present to the future, Innova Medical Group develops trusted solutions that are both intuitive and secure to use. Innova has quickly and nimbly become the world’s largest provider of COVID-19 tests, and is determined to execute on this model across infectious diseases, other chronic conditions and wellness.
For more information about Innova Medical Group, Inc., please visit: www.innovamedgroup.com
For press inquiries:
Strategic Financial Relations (China) Limited
Anita Cheung Tel: (852) 2864 4827 Email: anita.cheung@sprg.com.hk
Chris Lee Tel: (852) 2864 4963 Email: chris.lee@sprg.com.hk