Yang Huiyan saw her net worth plunge by more than 52 percent to $11.3 billion from $23.7 billion a year ago.
Beijing:Â
Asia’s wealthiest woman lost more than half her fortune over the past year as China’s real estate sector was rocked by a cash crunch, a billionaire index showed Thursday.
Yang Huiyan, a majority shareholder in Chinese property giant Country Garden, saw her net worth plunge by more than 52 percent to $11.3 billion from $23.7 billion a year ago, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Yang’s fortune took a major hit on Wednesday when the Guangdong-based Country Garden’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 15 percent after the company announced it would sell new shares to raise cash.
Yang inherited her wealth when her father — Country Garden founder Yang Guoqiang — transferred his shares to her in 2005, according to state media.
She became Asia’s richest woman two years later after the developer’s initial public offering in Hong Kong.
But she is now barely holding onto that title, with chemical fibres tycoon Fan Hongwei a close runner-up with a net worth of $11.2 billion on Thursday.
Chinese authorities cracked down on excessive debt in the property sector in 2020, leaving major players such as Evergrande and Sunac struggling to make payments and forcing them to renegotiate with creditors as they teetered on the edge of bankruptcy.
Buyers across the country, furious at lagging construction and delayed deliveries of their properties, have begun withholding mortgage payments for homes sold before completion.
While Country Garden has remained relatively unscathed by industry turmoil, it spooked investors with a Wednesday announcement that it planned to raise more than $343 million through a share sale, partly to pay debts.
Proceeds from the sale would be used for “refinancing existing offshore indebtedness, general working capital and future development purposes,” Country Garden said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange.
China’s banking regulator has urged lenders to support the property sector and meet the “reasonable financing needs” of firms as analysts and policymakers fear financial contagion.
The property sector is estimated to account for 18-30 percent of the country’s GDP and is a key driver of growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
More Stories
Langya Virus Found In China: Symptoms, Spread And Other Details – 5 Points
Langya virus: A zoonotic virus Langya has been reported in China, with 35 people infected so far. The new type...
Sri Lanka Confirms Talks With China Over Deferring Visit Of Ship To Hambantota
India had expressed its security concerns over the docking of the vessel at Hambantota as it was shown as a...
Taiwan’s Military Drill Simulating Defence Against China Attack: Report
Lou Woei-jye, spokesman for Taiwan's Eighth Army Corps, confirmed that the drills had started in the southern county of Pingtung....
A Year After Taliban’s Return, Afghan Women Fight For Lost Freedoms
Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls are banned from going to high school. Kabul:Â Monesa Mubarez...
China Using Drills To “Prepare For Invasion”: Taiwan Foreign Minister
Taiwan had on Monday slammed China for conducting fresh air and sea drills around the island Taipei:Â Taiwan held an...
Sri Lanka President Calls For “Bilateral Agreement With Whoever We Want”
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said, "There's too much of politics involved for there to be a regional trade agreement...