"He's on to Something": Chinese Developer Victor Xiao Shares Lobola Costs in China on Podcast

• Chinese property developer Victor Xiao appeared on a South African podcast and revealed how lobola works in China
• Xiao also shared that owning a home is a marriage requirement in China, similar to how lobola functions in SA
• South Africans in the comments were fascinated by the cultural parallels and by Xiao's property projects across the country

A Chinese property developer left South Africans stunned after revealing that lobola exists in China too, and it comes with a R500,000 price tag.

Victor Xiao, a director and developer with multiple housing projects across South Africa, appeared on episode 36 of the Entrepreneurs Chat Podcast on 3 August 2026. Hosted by TikToker @henrytheplug, the sit-down conversation quickly went viral after Xiao drew a striking cultural comparison between Chinese and South African marriage traditions.

Xiao explained that in China, a man is expected to own a home before he can marry. Property developers even market homes using the same logic that jewellery brands use for diamond rings: the bigger and better the home, the greater the show of love. On top of that, a form of bride price, similar in concept to lobola, is also expected, and the going rate converts to roughly half a million rand.

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SA and China share more than you think

Xiao, who first came to South Africa in 2008, said the country's sunshine and braai culture won him over almost immediately. He said that in China, high-rise living leaves no room for open-air cooking, but South Africa changed that for him and his wife. The two have since been refining their braai recipes back home in China.

He also reflected on his early years in South African property, recalling that between 2010 and 2011 he sold as many as 40 to 50 property units in a single month during a local boom. He is currently developing Limbro Grove Estate in Johannesburg, a 424-unit project, alongside a planned development of 800 to 900 units in Pretoria East. His most ambitious project is a 75-hectare site near Stellenbosch in Cape Town, earmarked for more than 2,000 units.

On a lighter note, Xiao mentioned that his two children, raised in South Africa, speak English, Mandarin, Afrikaans and Zulu. He laughed as he admitted he sometimes cannot follow their conversations.

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View the TikTok video below:

Mzansi reacts to the revelation

South Africans in the comments were equal parts amused and curious on the page:

@Bellissimatc 🇿🇦 wrote:

"What is his company. We need some jobs"

@Akhona added:

"Plus a car and a house, you can't married without these!"

@earmarked X asked:

"Did he mention that his kids speak Zulu? 🤔"

@Somhlolo😎💫 questioned:

"So how did he get the land??"

@bestowmoeng reflected:

"Our land brother and sister… capitalism have plans while we depending only in that land without capital 😫"

@Queen of Property shared:

"My former boss... very supportive leader I have ever met."

@Moses Nkomo simply said:

"Chinese are cooking 🇨🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳"

@KM said:

"Outside of the lobola comments this man is on to something. Property is booming."

More Briefly News stories on lobola

• Home Affairs issued a final reminder for couples in unregistered customary marriages to register before the special 31 August 2026 deadline.
• A Free State millionaire and his wife are searching for a second bride, offering her a R20 million estate and R1 million lobola, but one condition has sparked outrage.
• Sihle Dambuza amused South Africans with the unusual story of how he proposed to Kungi and their unconventional “backwards” wedding plans.

Source: Briefly News