Vernal Capital Founder Du Jun: Taking Root is Also Rooting
Du Jun, founder of Vernal Capital, reflected on migration: his parents moved from the countryside to a town, and then to a county for his brothers' education. At 16, he moved to Beijing alone, where he spent 13 years working, starting a business, and getting married; his wife is from Beijing.
During these 13 years, he met fewer than 5 fellow natives from Chongqing. Two who left a deep impression were the co-founder of Yuanfudao and the founder of Erbatui. He noted that people from Chongqing might adapt better to the southern climate, with many moving to Shenzhen and Shanghai for internet jobs.
At 29, he moved from Beijing to Singapore, re-establishing friendships and adapting to new rules. Currently, 80% of his office colleagues are locals from Singapore, and 60% of clients come from the local market. He describes Chongqing as his place of growth, Beijing as where he built his family and career, and Singapore as where he currently lives, works, and raises his children.
He wrote that a hometown is always a hometown, and roots can grow elsewhere with life. Returning to one's roots is good, but taking root is also good. Whether one can stand firm depends on understanding the rules of the new soil, integrating into society, building credit and relationships, and creating some value. He quoted a Shenzhen slogan, "If you come, you are a Shenzhen person; if you come, you are a volunteer," stating that identity defined by integration is true identity.
The post did not disclose the scale of management, project names under the fund, or specific years of relocation. The only verifiable operational figures are: 80% of colleagues are locals, and 60% of clients are from the local market. His personal path is from rural areas to towns, to a county, to 13 years in Beijing, and then to Singapore.
This reflects localization for clients and teams, not cross-border asset relocation. The buyers are local clients in Singapore, and the employers are local colleagues. Funding and relationships have shifted from the entrepreneurial network in Beijing to local credit in the Singapore office. The beneficiaries are businesses that can operate under local rules; those under pressure are external institutions relying solely on their original networks without building new credit.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Du Jun is a co-founder of Huobi, who started an exchange in Beijing with Li Lin in 2013, later leaving operational roles. Huobi subsequently moved its main operations out of mainland China, with teams dispersed to Singapore, Hong Kong, and other locations. This time, he writes about migration as the founder of Vernal Capital, noting that 80% of his office staff are locals and 60% of clients are from Singapore, effectively placing the fund's personnel and orders under the same regulatory and customer environment, rather than serving the original market remotely.
His path includes moving to Beijing at 16, completing work, entrepreneurship, and marriage in 13 years, and relocating to Singapore at 29. He mentions knowing fewer than 5 fellow natives, contrasting this with Chongqing internet entrepreneurs like Yuanfudao and Erbatui who moved to Shenzhen and Shanghai. Credit is not something carried over; it is rebuilt under new rules, reflected in the ratios of local colleagues and clients.
This is similar to Binance and Huobi relocating their operational centers to Singapore, as well as a group of Chinese founders exchanging local employment for licenses and clients. He is in a rooting phase: the fund is already using local colleagues to serve local clients, and his personal narrative divides Chongqing, Beijing, and Singapore into growth, family, and children, without requiring a single affiliation.
Structurally, this represents a reconstruction of the industry chain. The entry into trading and investment businesses has shifted from ancestral relationships to local employment, local clients, and local rules. The slogan "If you come, you are a Shenzhen person" is used to illustrate that identity is defined by integration. Individuals can have roots in multiple places, but for institutions to transact, they must first ensure that both colleagues and clients grow in the same soil.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Individuals can have roots in multiple places, but businesses can only build credit locally.
The network of fellow natives cannot carry over client ratios.
What moves are people; what remains are rules.