Peter Batey, OBE
Chairman
Peter Batey co-founded Vermilion Partners in 2004, and is its Chairman. He has advised foreign companies on the development of their businesses in China since 1986, when he moved to China to help establish Arthur Andersen & Co’s presence in Beijing. He subsequently served as Arthur Andersen’s Chief Representative in China.
From 1989 to 2004, he was Chairman of Batey Burn, a leading China advisory firm, which he co-founded in 1989. In 1999, he became Chairman of APCO Asia concurrently, upon the acquisition of Batey Burn by APCO Worldwide. Peter served as Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, 1994-6 and co-founded the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in 1999, servicing successively as Vice President and President, 1999-2002.
Peter is Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Nominations Committee of the China Britain Business Council. He previously acted, from 2006-2008, as Senior Advisor to the Lord Mayor and Corporation of the City of London in China. From 2006 until 2013, he was a director of Sichuan Shuijingfang, the Shanghai-listed Chinese White Spirits Company, as a nominee of Diageo plc. He was previously Director of the LIM China Opportunities Fund, an umbrella fund with three sub-funds investing in A, B and H shares respectively. He has served as board director of a number of Chinese and joint venture companies.
In 2004, Peter was appointed by the British Government as Chairman of the Great Britain China Centre, a non-departmental public body funded by Parliament and under the supervision of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He graduated from Oxford University and joined Citibank in 1981. In 1982, he became political private secretary to Sir Edward Heath, the former British Prime Minister who restored diplomatic relations with China. Peter is a trustee of the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation. He was awarded the OBE for services to Sino-British investment and trade in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in June 1997. He is based in Beijing.