Yang Huiyan, Asia's richest woman, loses half of her wealth; Here's why

By Gargi Chaudhry | First Published Jul 29, 2022, 11:35 AM IST

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Yang is still the wealthiest woman in Asia despite losing more than half of her money. The fall in her net worth has narrowed the wealth gap between her and fellow female billionaires in China, making Yang only some $100 million away from being surpassed by Fan Hongwei in wealth.

Yang Huiyan, the richest woman in Asia, has seen her wealth decline to $11 billion from almost $24 billion this year as China's real estate crisis worsens. The 41-year-old is in charge of Country Garden Holdings, the biggest sales-based developer of real estate in China. Her father Yang Guoqiang, who launched the business in Foshan, Guangdong province, in 1992, passed most of his ownership interest to her.

As the nation's real estate industry has faced with declining property prices, waning buyer demand, and a debt default crisis that has enveloped some of its top developers since last year, Country Garden's stock has lost more than half of its value this year.

Tap to resize

Latest Videos

Tap to resize

Two years after the developer's IPO in 2007 came out, she became the wealthiest woman in Asia. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Yang is still the wealthiest woman in Asia despite losing more than half of her money. The fall in her net worth has narrowed the wealth gap between her and fellow female billionaires in China, making Yang only some $100 million away from being surpassed by Fan Hongwei in wealth.

Also Read | Who is Manisha Ropeta, Pakistan’s first Hindu woman to become senior cop?

Yang's riches suffered a significant setback on Wednesday when shares of Country Garden, a firm with its headquarters in Guangdong, plummeted 15% after the company announced it would issue fresh shares to fund money.

Following months of financial problems, Evergrande, China's most indebted real estate company, missed payments on its US dollar bonds in December. Since then, a number of other significant developers have also requested protection from creditors, including Kaisa and Shimao Group.

The housing problem has become worse recently as hundreds of irate homeowners who put down payments on incomplete houses threatened to quit making mortgage payments if construction wasn't finished on schedule. As experts and officials worry about financial contagion, China's banking regulator has encouraged lenders to assist the real estate industry and satisfy the "reasonable financing needs" of businesses.

Also Read | Satellite imagery shows China building larger bridge near Pangong Tso

For more reliable and latest news