Interview with Vicky Xi: a former New Zealand government investment officer living life on her own terms

Like this reporter, were you unaware that the New Zealand Government even had investment officers?

More surprising still, a young Chinese woman secured this prestigious government role and also became director of cross-border investment for Greater China. She dealt directly with New Zealand company founders, fund managers, partners at leading investment banks, top law firms and the Big Four accounting firms, as well as central and local government officials, on transactions often worth tens or even hundreds of millions…

That same woman then gave up this dream role, with its five-star business trips, chauffeured transport, embassy and consulate offices, and colleagues who were counsellors and diplomats. Bringing nearly twenty years of local experience back down to earth, she wanted to help people with development dreams secure finance and take flight!

She is Vicky Xi, a finance partner at Squirrel Group.

 

The extraordinary journey of a former investment officer

 

Vicky was only in her early thirties when she became a government investment officer, but already had nearly ten years of experience in New Zealand banking. During that decade, she moved from personal to business banking and then into property development. Her talent shone in every department. After topping branch and regional rankings countless times, she felt something was missing: the passion and excitement of a fresh challenge.

For Vicky, leaving banking for government meant ‘moving from a commercial bank to the Government’s “investment bank”, from approving loans for New Zealand businesses to raising equity for them. Considering transactions from different perspectives is fascinating.’ Whether a role is interesting is one of her measures of whether it is worth doing, reflecting her intense curiosity about the world and how things work.

So, for Vicky, who wanted to ‘meet different people, hear different stories and experience different lives’, leaving a government role she had mastered to join Squirrel Group, whose very name she found interesting, was an unexpected yet natural step:

‘At Squirrel, I can help developers approach finance and risk management more professionally and establish standardised business practices. Alongside securing lower financing costs, I can help their businesses access greater opportunities for growth. That gives me an unparalleled sense of achievement.’ Vicky’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

 

Choose the right person, and difficulties can become opportunities

 

Vicky joined Squirrel Group at the invitation of its founder, John Bolton, focusing on development-related lending, including land purchase, development and construction loans.

Compared with ordinary residential mortgages, development loans are widely recognised as having more complex requirements, greater difficulty, longer timeframes and more challenging stages, where one change can affect everything else. To Vicky, this means overall project planning matters more, financing channels are more diverse, financial structures more complex and funding requirements larger. In certain circumstances, cross-border entities and measures to avoid compliance risks are also involved. The work therefore demands greater experience and expertise, brings more satisfaction when problems are solved, and suits her love of challenges and willingness to tackle difficulties head-on.

Vicky gives every project her utmost effort and professional attention, regardless of size. One recent project was modest in scale but particularly satisfying: she helped a first-time developer from another industry secure financing for 100% of project costs across two townhouse developments on Auckland’s North Shore:

The developer, Mr A, originally had a partner. They had unconditionally purchased two sections and paid a 10% deposit. Unexpectedly, the partner withdrew partway through, leaving Mr A to buy out the departing shareholder and cover the full development costs. His finances became extremely stretched, and for a time he did not know how to continue.

Once involved, Vicky quickly contributed to project planning and design and led the funding strategy. She secured joint financing using Squirrel’s own funds and a partner lender, coordinated negotiations on loan terms and details between the developer’s team and the lender, and arranged all lending for land settlement, resource consent and subdivision, and subsequent construction. On the day construction began, the developer recovered all the equity he had already put into the projects and reinvested it in later projects. Loan drawdowns proceeded very smoothly. Mr A’s first project is now nearing handover, the second is about to reach roof level, and he has already begun planning and purchasing land for several future projects.

In fact, Vicky did more than resolve Mr A’s immediate crisis. She turned adversity into opportunity, helping him regain control and earn a greater profit than expected:

‘Across these two projects, the developer initially invested only NZ$60, with the funds tied up for nine months. After all development and financing costs, the pre-tax profit was NZ$250. Had the partner stayed, some financing costs might have been saved, but half the profit would have gone to the partner.’ In other words, Mr A was very fortunate. With Vicky’s help, his first development was a resounding success, earning him more than an additional NZ$1,000,000. His experience demonstrated the importance of choosing the right person.

 

Expertise delivers excellence; dreams guide a life

 

When lenders and developers describe Vicky, the words are invariably ‘professional’, ‘efficient’ and ‘highly experienced’.

Even the smoothest, best-funded development projects encounter unpredictable problems during delivery. What sets Vicky apart is her ability to anticipate and manage risks, and to find the best solution immediately when unavoidable risks arise. This ‘superpower’, which repeatedly amazes her partners, comes from her extensive knowledge, deep understanding of the market, years of relevant experience and professional approach.

Perhaps you have years of local business experience but are new to property development. Perhaps you are a recent migrant with extensive investment experience in China but little local knowledge, hoping to enter development here. Perhaps you have previously built small detached-home projects on serviced sections and now want to tackle more demanding, capital-intensive developments such as townhouses or apartments. Perhaps your project is large and difficult, with complex, challenging stages. Perhaps your company has a complex structure and highly specialised operations…

Believe me, you need more than finance. You also need a partner like Vicky: professional, efficient and highly experienced.