China's richest get gloriously richer (CRI) Updated: 2005-10-12 17:23
The wealth of China's 100 richest people grew 40 per cent during the past
year, with property and manufacturing the most profitable sectors.
These are the findings of the China Rich List due to be published today by
Rupert Hoogewerf, who has produced such a ranking for the seven years.
This time, however, the number of wealthy was expanded to 400 from 100 in
previous years and their total wealth amounted to US$75 billion, equal to 7 per
cent of China's gross domestic product last year.
One in five are believed to be members of the Communist Party, including
eight National People's Congress delegates, and 11 China People's Political
Consultative Congress members.
Such lists are also published by Forbes as well as Chinese magazines.
Some question their accuracy, especially for those entrepreneurs whose
companies are not listed, meaning the accounts are not published. Many prefer to
hide their wealth from the envy of government officials, tax collectors and the
angry unemployed.
"Valuing the wealth of China's rich is as much an art as it is a science," Mr
Hoogewerf said. "For non-listed companies, we derived a value by comparing them
with their listed equivalents, using industry [price-earnings] ratios."
To make the top 100 this year required a fortune of US$210 million, a rise of
40 per cent from the US$150 million entry level last year and compared with just
US$6 million when the list first appeared in 1999.
Seven of the top 10 were US dollar billionaires, up from three last year.
Top of the list, for the second year, was Wong Kwong-yu, 36, the founder of
Gome Group, China's largest electronics retailer, whose personal wealth grew
from US$1.3 billion last year to US$1.7 billion, mainly through a sale of stock
from his Hong Kong-listed company which earned him US$320 million.
Second came Yan Jiehe, 45, the chief executive of China Pacific Construction
Group, with a fortune of US$1.5 billion, up from US$180 million last year.
His firm is the leading private builder of roads, reservoirs, bridges and
other infrastructural projects, employing 100,000 people, the largest of any
private firm in the country, and paying US$170 million in taxes last year on
sales of US$2.7 billion.
Third was Chen Tianqiao, 32, the chief executive of Shanda Networking
Development, the online games and internet portal, with US$1.45 billion, up from
US$1.05 billion.
Just 21 of the 400 on the list were women and only 9 per cent said they could
speak passable English.
The sole departure from last year's list was Gu Chujun, the former chairman
of Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings who was arrested in July for violating
the Securities Law.
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