CHINA'S 1%
Water tycoon is China's richest as wealth crackdown batters Jack MaByAFP
PublishedOctober 27, 2021
Bottled-water tycoon Zhong Shanshan has become China's wealthiest person, worth $60.5 billion - Copyright CNS/AFP STR
Bottled-water tycoon Zhong Shanshan has become China’s wealthiest person, according to an annual ranking released Wednesday, as a government campaign to rein in the super-rich took a big bite out of the fortunes of perennial front-runners like Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma.
Zhong, in his late 60s, has seen his fortune swell following the stock listings last year of his Nongfu Spring mineral water and separate pharma company Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which has tapped into massive demand for Covid-19 test kits.
He is worth $60.5 billion, according to the Hurun Rich List, up seven percent.
Ranked third last year, Zhong was propelled to the top spot as the Communist Party government’s drive to redistribute wealth in the name of equality sliced billions from the fortunes of other tycoons.
Ma, last year’s richest, dropped to fifth as his fortune shrank 36 percent to $39.6 billion.
Ma and Alibaba fell out of favour with Beijing soon after he gave a speech late last year criticising China’s financial regulators.
That resulted in Chinese officials spiking what would have been a world record $37 billion initial public offering for Alibaba’s financial group Ant and kicked off a cascade of crackdowns on Chinese tech companies, alleged monopolistic practises, and powerful tycoons.
Pony Ma, boss of gaming giant and WeChat owner Tencent, dropped two spots to fourth as Chinese restrictions on video gaming reduced his fortune by 19 percent.
Second place was taken by TikTok founder Zhang Yiming.
The Hurun Research Institute, which compiles the list, said that for the first time the real estate sector had no names in the Top 10.
The sector’s biggest loser was Xu Jiayin, founder of deeply troubled property giant Evergrande Group.
Xu had topped the list in 2017 and was fifth last year. But he has fallen to 70th with a nearly 70 percent reduction in his wealth to $11.3 billion, according to Hurun.
A liquidity crunch at Evergrande has hammered investor sentiment and rattled the country’s crucial real estate market, while fanning fears of a possible contagion in the wider economy.
Chinese authorities have told Xu to use his dwindling personal wealth to alleviate the embattled company’s debt crisis, according to media reports this week.
However, the overall number of individuals in China worth at least two billion yuan ($310 million) grew by 520 to a total of 2,918, Hurun said.
Growth in the electric vehicle market, in particular, fuelled the rising fortunes of several entrepreneurs, according to the list.
Chinese authorities have told Evergrande's billionaire founder to use his own money to pay down the company's $300 billion debt, Bloomberg reports
Huileng Tan
Tue, October 26, 2021,
Beijing has instructed Evergrande's founder, Hui Ka Yan, to pay the company's debt using his personal funds, Bloomberg reported.
Hui's net worth is about $7.6 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Evergrande's debt pile is $300 billion.
Authorities in China have told Evergrande's billionaire founder, Hui Ka Yan, to use his own money to pay the company's debt, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The directive was issued after the real estate behemoth missed an initial Sept. 23 deadline to pay an $84 million coupon on a dollar bond, Bloomberg added. Evergrande later paid the coupon during the note's 30-day grace period.
Hui's fortune alone is unlikely to be enough to rescue the debt-laden property developer.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Hui's net worth is around $7.6 billion - that's small change compared to Evergrande's $300 billion debt pile as of June this year.
It's also unclear if Hui's personal stash is liquid enough for the mission. His wealth is largely derived from his shares in Evergrande and their cash dividends, Bloomberg added.
Markets the world over have been roiled by Evergrande's debt woes as investors fear contagion across the world economy. The developer has an interest payment worth $45 million due this Friday.
But local governments China are keeping tabs on Evergrande's bank accounts to ensure the company's funds are being used to complete housing projects under construction, rather than being used to pay creditors, Bloomberg added.
Hui did not immediately respond to an Insider request for comment via Evergrande.
Huileng Tan
Tue, October 26, 2021,
Beijing has instructed Evergrande's founder, Hui Ka Yan, to pay the company's debt using his personal funds, Bloomberg reported.
Hui's net worth is about $7.6 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Evergrande's debt pile is $300 billion.
Authorities in China have told Evergrande's billionaire founder, Hui Ka Yan, to use his own money to pay the company's debt, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The directive was issued after the real estate behemoth missed an initial Sept. 23 deadline to pay an $84 million coupon on a dollar bond, Bloomberg added. Evergrande later paid the coupon during the note's 30-day grace period.
Hui's fortune alone is unlikely to be enough to rescue the debt-laden property developer.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Hui's net worth is around $7.6 billion - that's small change compared to Evergrande's $300 billion debt pile as of June this year.
It's also unclear if Hui's personal stash is liquid enough for the mission. His wealth is largely derived from his shares in Evergrande and their cash dividends, Bloomberg added.
Markets the world over have been roiled by Evergrande's debt woes as investors fear contagion across the world economy. The developer has an interest payment worth $45 million due this Friday.
But local governments China are keeping tabs on Evergrande's bank accounts to ensure the company's funds are being used to complete housing projects under construction, rather than being used to pay creditors, Bloomberg added.
Hui did not immediately respond to an Insider request for comment via Evergrande.
Jack Ma Tours Netherlands in Farming Technology Quest, SCMP Says
Felix Tam
Tue, October 26, 2021, 9:48 PM·1 min read
(Bloomberg) -- Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is visiting research institutions in the Netherlands to further his interest in agriculture-related technology, South China Morning Post reported Tuesday.
Ma, who is traveling to Europe for the first time since a bruising Chinese government crackdown on his tech empire, was photographed visiting a number of institutes in the Netherlands, including aluminum extrusions and greenhouse roofs specialist BOAL Group, the newspaper said, citing unidentified people. He is undertaking the tour in his personal capacity, it said.
The 57-year-old billionaire will continue traveling in Europe to visit more companies and research centers involved in agricultural infrastructure and plant breeding, according to the report. Ma had visited Spain after a stop in Hong Kong, the Post said last week.
Ma was inspired by what he saw in Europe and believed that a combination of farming knowledge and Alibaba’s technologies would create “tremendous potential” for the modernization of agriculture in China, the Post said, adding that he wanted to dedicate his post-retirement days to philanthropy, rural education and pursue his interest in reviving China’s countryside.
Alibaba spokesmen declined to comment to the Post, saying Ma was no longer involved in the company’s daily operations.
China kicked off sweeping reforms of the private sector a year ago by pulling the plug on a planned initial public offering by Ant Group Co., an Alibaba affiliate also founded by Ma. That was followed by an antitrust probe of the e-commerce giant for alleged abuses of its market power. Ma, who typically kept a prominent profile, largely disappeared from public view in the months that followed.
Felix Tam
Tue, October 26, 2021, 9:48 PM·1 min read
(Bloomberg) -- Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is visiting research institutions in the Netherlands to further his interest in agriculture-related technology, South China Morning Post reported Tuesday.
Ma, who is traveling to Europe for the first time since a bruising Chinese government crackdown on his tech empire, was photographed visiting a number of institutes in the Netherlands, including aluminum extrusions and greenhouse roofs specialist BOAL Group, the newspaper said, citing unidentified people. He is undertaking the tour in his personal capacity, it said.
The 57-year-old billionaire will continue traveling in Europe to visit more companies and research centers involved in agricultural infrastructure and plant breeding, according to the report. Ma had visited Spain after a stop in Hong Kong, the Post said last week.
Ma was inspired by what he saw in Europe and believed that a combination of farming knowledge and Alibaba’s technologies would create “tremendous potential” for the modernization of agriculture in China, the Post said, adding that he wanted to dedicate his post-retirement days to philanthropy, rural education and pursue his interest in reviving China’s countryside.
Alibaba spokesmen declined to comment to the Post, saying Ma was no longer involved in the company’s daily operations.
China kicked off sweeping reforms of the private sector a year ago by pulling the plug on a planned initial public offering by Ant Group Co., an Alibaba affiliate also founded by Ma. That was followed by an antitrust probe of the e-commerce giant for alleged abuses of its market power. Ma, who typically kept a prominent profile, largely disappeared from public view in the months that followed.
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