Asia's Richest Woman Yang Huiyan Loses Half Her Fortune Amid China's Property Crisis

Asia¡¯s wealthiest woman, Yang Huiyan, has lost more than half her fortune over the past year amid the worsening of China¡¯s real estate sector¡¯s crisis.

41-year-old Yang Huiyan is a majority shareholder in China¡¯s biggest property developer Country Garden, and has seen her net worth plunge by more than 52% to $11.3bn from $23.7bn a year ago, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

In a sign that the real estate sector¡¯s crisis has been spreading to developers, which were previously thought to be rock solid, Yang¡¯s fortune took a major hit yesterday when the Guangdong-based Country Garden¡¯s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 15% after the company announced it would sell new shares to raise cash.

Born on 20 July 1981, Yang had inherited her wealth when her father Yang Guoqiang, who is Country Garden¡¯s founder, had transferred his shares to her in 2005.

Yang Huiyan/facebook

Yang Huiyan went on to become Asia¡¯s richest woman two years later after the developer¡¯s initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong in 2007.

But now, she is barely holding on to that title, with chemical fibers tycoon Fan Hongwei a close runner-up with a net worth of $11.2bn as of today (at the time of writing this report). Fan Hongwei is the chairman of Hengli Petrochemical Co, the largest chemical fibers maker in China, as per Bloomberg.

Buyers across the country¡¯s real estate sector are furious at lagging construction and delayed deliveries of their properties, and have begun withholding mortgage payments for homes sold before completion, as per AFP.

While Yang Huiyan¡¯s Country Garden has reportedly remained relatively unscathed by industry turmoil, it spooked investors with an announcement yesterday that it planned to raise more than $343m through a share sale, partly to pay debts.

Its regulatory filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange mentioned that the proceeds from the sale would be used for ¡°refinancing existing offshore indebtedness, general working capital and future development purposes¡±.

On the other hand, 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% of China's GDP and is a key driver of growth in the world¡¯s second-largest economy, as per AFP.

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