China’s stock market rally is creating two billionaires a week. Even a recent equities slump has failed to halt the momentum.
A total of nine new billionaires emerged this week, including the first Taiwanese tycoon with a fortune exceeding $1 billion.
That came even after China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunged 6.5 per cent on Thursday as brokerages tightened lending restrictions.
The new wealth this week came from industries ranging from electronics, baby milk powder to fertilisers, and yielded a pair of billionaire brothers whose fortune came from the manufacturing of cans and metal containers. Hsung Yueling, chairman of Ningbo Techmation, became the first billionaire minted in Taiwan this year after the manufacturer of systems controlling plastic-making machines surged to a record on Wednesday.
Mr Hsung, also known as Xiong Yulin, owns about 60 per cent of Ningbo Techmation with his wife, Chou Shanshan, giving him a net worth of $1.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
"The goal is to develop the business well," Zheng Qin, board secretary at Ningbo Techmation, said by phone in response to Mr Hsung's net worth.
The plunge in stocks did little to dent some billion-dollar fortunes. Lin Yongxian, chairman of ShengXing Group Co., has a net worth of $1.3 billion with his 25 percent stake, while his brother Lin Yongbao, who's the president, has a $1 billion fortune with more than a fifth of the Fuzhou-based company, according to the Bloomberg index.
That's after the stock slumped by the exchange-imposed 10 per cent limit on Thursday. Xie Hong, founder of baby milk manufacturer Beingmate Baby and Child Food, also has a $1.1 billion net worth including his cash holdings, even as the stock fell by the 10 per cent cap on Thursday.
For Gao Yugen, chairman of Suzhou Victory Precision Manufacture, the lifting of a one-week trading halt drove shares of the precision metal components maker 10 per cent higher on Thursday. That lifted his net worth to $1 billion. The company confirmed his stock holding.
Huang Peizhao, chairman of Shenzhen Batian Ecotypic Engineering, locked in a $1 billion fortune after shares of his fertilizer producer were suspended from trading after reaching a record on Monday.
The fastest gains came from billionaires who made their money from initial public offerings this year. Gao Xingjiang, chairman of Yongxing Special Stainless Steel , has a $1.2 billion net worth as shares of the steelmaker more than tripled since it started trading on May 15th.
Wang Dawei, chairman of Shenzhen Gongjin Electronics, and General Manager Tang Fonan each have $1 billion fortunes even as shares of the electronics parts distributor lost 7.5 percent on Thursday. While the decline reduced the gain since its trading debut three months ago, the stock is still almost six times higher than its IPO price. Officials of the other companies didn't immediately respond to queries or declined to comment on the report.
Bloomberg
