The country’s two wealthiest businesspeople, one an electric-car maker, the other a paper-recycling giant, reflect the rapid emergence of green industries in China’s fast-recovering economy, according to analysts.
Rupert Hoogewerf, founder and publisher of the the Shanghai-based Hurun Report, revealed the top two richest Chinese people Monday night in Hainan, an island province in south China. The full Hurun Rich List of 1,000 Chinese entrepreneurs whose fortunes are above 1 billion yuan ($147 million), will be released in October.
Wang Chuanfu, owner of battery and electric-car maker BYD, leapt 102 places to top the Hurun Rich List after his fortune increased more than five-fold over a year ago, to $5.1 billion.
“I was shocked; I really was,” Hoogewerf told the Global Times Tuesday, adding that he believes the growth of China’s automobile market has contributed to Wang’s business’ rapid growth.
Second on the list is Zhang Yin, who founded the paper-recycling company Nine Dragons Paper. She ranked No. 1 in 2006 and No. 2 in 2007, but had fallen to 15th last year amid the economic downturn.
Zhang Yin
Hoogewerf said Zhang’s return to second is indicative of the recovery of China’s export market, as well as higher expectations for the environmental industry.
BYD’s performance report shows that the growth in its auto division is the most eye-catching, surging 133 percent, year-on-year, to about 8.9 billion yuan by the end of June.
A report by Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV said yesterday that the first and second richest have represented the new development and potential of new energy options in China, while overseas media such as AFP noted that an investment from US billionaire investor Warren Buffett certainly contributed to Wang’s success.
Wang’s 27.8 percent stake in BYD soared after Buffett paid $230 million for a 10 percent stake in the company in September 2008, the report said.
The number of US dollar billionaires in China rose from 101 to 130 last year.
Also, since the Hurun list launched in 1999, China’s business owners have become more connected to the world market than regional Chinese markets, Hoogewerf said.