Birmingham City chairman Vico Hui has declared they can become a bigger club than Manchester City.

The two clubs face-off today at St Andrews.

Hui told the Sunday Mirror: "We have the Chinese people, Manchester City's owners have their oil.

"I would not swap our people for their oil."

The clubs, who clash today, are currently poles apart in wealth.

But Hui, a 43-year-old investment manager who has also been involved in developing new power sources for China, believes in the long term they could be trading places.

He said: "You can look at other billionaire owners of football clubs, you have Russians and Arabs, but I think there is not the same interest in their homeland that there will be for us in this situation. It is quite unique. I don't think you can quantify it exactly but we will be working 24 hours a day - well, maybe 23 because everybody has to sleep - to make it happen.

"We are in uncharted territory but it is exciting. I understand questions about how anybody can compete in a League where Manchester City have so much money, but what I am saying is that we have a privilege compared to them.

"We are Chinese people, we have very good connections in China, China is a huge market and it's a very strange market. You must have good communication, and you have to know the way how to do the business. That's our privilege. We know the way, how to contact people, how to communicate with the people, and with the government.

"Other Premier League clubs may look at the interest in football in China but they don't have this kind of communications. China is a huge market."