12 October, 2006. HURUN REPORT RELEASES FIRST ‘RICHEST WOMEN IN CHINA LIST

• 49-YEAR OLD ZHANG YIN RICHEST SELF-MADE WOMAN IN WORLD AND FIRST WOMAN TO TOP CHINA RICH LIST
• WOMEN PLAYING A MORE PROMINENT ROLE IN CHINESE BUSINESS
  

Zhang Yin, the first woman to top the China Rich List, is de-facto top of Hurun Report’s first Richest Women of China ranking with a personal fortune of US$3.4 billion. Second comes 35-year old metal trader Chen Ningning and her mother (US$800m) and third is Beijing property developer 65-year old Chen Lihua (US$750m).

Zhang, the richest self-made woman in the world – surpassing that of celebrated US TV hostess Oprah Winfrey and Harry Potter author JK Rowling – is being hailed as a breakthrough for women in a nation where business, politics and family are dominated by males. Some Chinese media are comparing her to a modern day version of the legendary Hua Mulan. Rupert Hoogewerf, CEO of Hurun Report, a luxury business publishing group, says “Chinese Women in business are becoming increasingly visible.”

Zhang’s Story
Born into a military family in North East China, Zhang, the oldest of eight, in 1985 set up a scrap paper trading business in HK, soon expanding to paper mills in Guangdong. Together with her husband, Taiwan-born Liu Mingzhong, Zhang in 1990 set up a US-based broker to secure and supply recycled paper for its mills in China. Today Zhang is the largest exporter by volume of scrap paper from the US, processing the paper in two state of the art board mill complexes in Guangdong and Jiangsu. Zhang (Cantonese name Cheung Yan) personally controls 72% of Nine Dragons Paper (HK 2869), listed in Hong Kong in March and which today has a market capital of US$4.6 billion.

More visible in Business
The role of women in China has undergone dramatic changes over the last century. Since winning equal status in the eyes of the law after 1949, women have begun to play a more active role in Chinese society, but it was not until the beginning of the economic reforms of 1978 that women really began to make their mark in business.

Women are more visible in Chinese business. 47 of the 53 women ranked on Hurun Report’s list of the Richest Women in China are self-made, 35 of which ranked on the China Rich List. The average wealth of these women is US$240 million, a little lower than the average of the China Rich List (US$275 million), and the average age of 44.9 years is two years younger than those on the rich list.

Interesting Women

• Well-connected Chen Lihua started with property in HK in the early eighties, before returning to China ten years later to set up what is today China’s most exclusive private club. Chen is passionate about sandalwood and has built her own private museum to house her collection.
• 38 year-old Yang Lan, one of China’s best-known TV presenters, together with her husband Bruno Wu, is the face of SunMedia Investments, which invests primarily into media. A graduate of the renowned Columbia University, NY.
Zhang Lan founded South Beauty, a chain of twenty spicy Sichuan restaurants. A Canada returnee
• Zhang Xin is the financier behind high-profile Pan Shiyi, a Beijing property developer. Graduating from Cambridge University, UK, in 1992. Zhang went on to get international banking exposure at Goldman Sachs.
• Shi Xiaoyan has built Illinois Furniture into a leading furniture brand.
Li Yifei is the high-profile head of MTV China. Her husband Wang Chaoyong runs a private equity fund as well as the China Team for the America’s Cup, a sailing race.
• One woman, Lu Li, inherited her wealth after her husband passed away.

High profile Chinese woman not on list
Perhaps the highest-profile Chinese woman is Wendi Deng, wife of Rupert Murdoch. Deng’s shareholding of Murdoch’s business are not clear.