Real estate developer is China’s richest man

BEIJING: Hui Ka Yan, a property developer whose company is known for carrying large amounts of debt, is China’s richest man, according to Forbes’ list of the country’s billionaires.

Hui’s net worth shot up by US$32 billion (RM133.76 billion) just in the past year due to a 469% increase in the share prices of his listed company, China Evergrande Group.

The real estate developer’s profits grew nine fold in the first half of the year. But Guangzhou-based Evergrande has come under scrutiny for its vast debts, just as the Chinese government is trying to rein in private-sector debt, which threatens to topple the economy.

Hui’s total net worth this year is US$42.5 billion, a level of wealth never attained by a Chinese person, Forbes says.

Another real estate magnate, Wang Jianlin, fell from the top to fourth place, with a fortune of US$25.2 billion, after his company Dalian Wanda underwent major restructuring this year.

Above him are the founders of two of China’s internet giants – “Pony” Ma Huateng of Tencent, with a fortune of US$39 billion, and Jack Ma of Alibaba, with a net worth of US$38.6 billion.

Like Ma, the fifth richest man, Wang Wei, also found his fortune in commerce. Wang is the founder of package delivery company SF Express, known as the “FedEx of China” and has a net worth of US$22.3 billion.

The only woman among the top 10 richest Chinese people comes in at number six. Yang Huiyan is a majority stakeholder of property developer Country Garden Holdings and has a fortune of US$20.7 billion. – dpa