Birmingham City chairman Vico Hui says they can follow the NBA's success in China.

The potential for riches to be mined in the world's most populated country has already been proved by basketball, where the NBA has developed a 1.5billion-dollar business in the space of a few years.

Hui told the Sunday Mirror: "Why are we doing this? First it is for investment. I want to make a profit for the company.

"The second level is we like football, we have a passion, and we want Birmingham to be an international club and bring the message to China.

"We believe we have the way to unlock the passion for the game in a way that nobody else can do."