Chinese tycoon gifts old classmates with iPhone 6 at class reunion

Exchanging pleasantries at social gathering is lame. Giving away name cards? That's passe. How about giving away free iPhone 6s?

A Chinese businessman, Qian Feng Lei, decided to up the ante during his class reunion by giving away the swankiest gadget in town, complete with the words "Maoshan Middle School, Class of 1992' emblazoned behind.

Naturally, his classmates were ecstatic, heaping praise on their 'loyal' friend. One of his classmates even revealed that Qian gave away an iPhone 5 to each of his classmates during the class reunion back in 2013.

Photos on Weibo counted at least 14 happy faces at the class gathering.

This stunt set tongues wagging on the Chinese social media website Weibo, with many users taking jibes at him.

A user named @jianjianjianrenxin said: ""Tears streaming down my face! Let's be friends, tuhao (Chinese nouveau riche)."

Another user, @sishenwangyougonghuiguanyu, lamented: ""…When will I be able to offer all my classmates a free Lamborghini?"

According to Qian's Weibo account, he is the chairman of Universal International Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited.

Photos on his Weibo account showed nothing of the latest extravagance but offered clues of his brushes with the elite, such as photos with China's richest man, Jack Ma. 

Chinese media have also reported that Qian is a philanthropist, having made several donations to disaster relief efforts within China, such as the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and 2013 Lushan earthquake.

China is nearly one month late to Apple's party, after the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were released on Sep 19 worldwide. The iPhone 6 will only be available in China after Oct 17.

Apple had to allay concerns by the Chinese government of its potential security risks and 'backdoors', which may be exploited by US agencies.

grongloh@sph.com.sg