Li Ning, who won six gymnastics medals for China at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, is co-founding a blank cheque company or special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

SPACs are essentially bets on the abilities of the individuals behind them, since investors do not know ahead of time what specific assets are to be acquired.

They raise money by listing on a stock exchange and then use the funds to buy companies they believe to be good investments.

SPACS have become one of the hottest areas of finance over the past year.

Li and his associates are seeking to raise the sum of $250 million (£180 million/€210 million) to pursue opportunities in the realm of "global consumer lifestyle companies with compelling China potential".

They believe that "consumer brands with strong brand equity and a meaningful growth thesis in the China market will emerge as long-term global winners" and that their team has "the relevant experience and skills to identify consumer companies that can best capture the current market opportunities".

The new entity is called Trinity Acquisition and brings together Li, whose sportswear brand, Li-Ning, has proved a huge success over many years, Daniel Kar Keung Tseung, founder of LionRock Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm which recently acquired a majority stake in the near 200-year-old British shoemaker Clarks, David Tse Young Chou, a finance executive with experience at Goldman Sachs, and others.

In 2008, Li was accorded the honour of being the final Torchbearer, in which role he ignited the Flame which burned during the Beijing Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

His spectacular journey around the Bird’s Nest stadium roof provided a stunning finale to an Opening Ceremony which is thought to remain the one and only television show in broadcasting history to have attracted a live worldwide audience of more than a billion.

SPACS have been springing up almost on a daily basis in recent times, with more than 100 sports executives alone entering the market, according to Sportico.

The Financial Times reported recently that those in the process of launching SPACs include Tidjane Thiam, the former Credit Suisse chief executive who is an International Olympic Committee member representing the Ivory Coast.