<keyword id="2954415" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="yang-huiyan" source="Orion">Yang Huiyan</keyword>, <keyword id="21718" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="asia" source="Orion">Asia</keyword>'s <keyword id="10381323" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wealthiest-woman" source="Orion">wealthiest woman</keyword>, has seen her <keyword id="6383453" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wealth" source="Orion">wealth</keyword> fall to $11 billion from nearly $24 billion this year as <keyword id="1334" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword>'s property crisis escalates, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the media reported. The 41-year-old controls <keyword id="632496" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="country-garden" source="Orion">Country Garden</keyword> Holdings, China's largest real estate developer by sales. Her stake was largely transferred from her father <keyword id="227040" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="yang" source="Orion">Yang</keyword> Guoqiang, who founded the company in Foshan, Guangdong province, in 1992, <keyword id="82130" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="cnn" source="Orion">CNN</keyword> reported. Country Garden's stock has lost more than half its value this year, as the country's real estate sector has struggled with falling home prices, weakening buyer demand, and a debt default crisis that has engulfed some of its largest developers since last year, CNN reported. Despite losing more than half her fortune, Yang remains the <keyword id="1291774" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="richest-woman" source="Orion">richest woman</keyword> in Asia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The plunge in her net worth has narrowed the wealth gap between her and fellow female billionaires in China, making Yang only some $100 million away from being surpassed by Fan Hongwei in wealth. Fan chairs Hengli Petrochemical, a chemical fiber producer. Evergrande, China's most indebted property firm, defaulted on its US dollar bonds in December following months of liquidity issues. Since then, several other major developers, including Kaisa and Shimao Group, have also sought protection from creditors. In recent weeks, the real estate crisis has escalated, as thousands of disgruntled home-buyers who had made down payments for unfinished homes threatened to stop paying mortgages if construction is not completed in time, CNN reported. Country Garden is also facing growing liquidity stress. On Wednesday, the developer announced it would sell stocks at a nearly 13 per cent discount to raise HK$2.83 billion ($361 million), compared to its Tuesday's closing price. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/nasdaq-listed-cognizants-net-profit-grew-12-7-percent-in-june-2022-quarter/articleshow/93189304.cms">Cognizant reports 12.7% profit growth QoQ, but lowers revenue guidance for the year</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/kucoin-survey-80-of-indian-web-3-professionals-under-30-but-women-hesitant-to-join/articleshow/93188646.cms">KuCoin survey: 80% of Indian Web 3 professionals under 30 but women hesitant to join</a>

Asia's richest woman loses more than half her fortune as China's property crisis escalates

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Yang Huiyan, the chair of Chinese property giant Country Garden, lost about $29 billion of her wealth since June 2021.</li><li>According to Bloomberg, she lost $490 million on Tuesday alone as her company missed interest payments.</li></ul>Yang Huiyan — <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/08/01/asia-former-richest-woman-property-mogul-yang-huiyan-given-country-garden-charity-payout-826-million/">once Asia's wealthiest woman</a> — has lost more of her wealth than any billionaire since June 2021, as China's top property developer Country Garden grapples with a debt crisis.Since its peak in June 2021, chairperson <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-09/country-garden-chair-has-lost-more-wealth-than-any-billionaire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yang's net worth has plummeted by 84%, or $28.6 billion</a>, Bloomberg reported. The 41-year-old's net worth is now $5.5 billion, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per Bloomberg's Billionaires Index</a>. These losses come as Country Garden <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/chinas-country-garden-missed-two-dollar-bond-coupon-payments-2023-08-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">missed interest payments on two US-dollar-denominated bonds</a>, according to various media reports, including a Reuters report on Wednesday. The company now has a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/latest-china-developer-debt-woes-could-spur-policy-aid-industry-downbeat-2023-08-09/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">30-day grace period</a> to avoid an official default. The Foshan-based company's Hong Kong-listed stocks have plunged by 20.4% since Monday. Yang — who derives much of her wealth from a 52.6% stake in the company, per a Monday report by ratings agency Moody's seen by Insider — saw her wealth tank by about $490 million on Tuesday alone. Before taking over as majority shareholder of the company from her father in 2007, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/richest-alumni-big-ten-2011-4#ohio-state-university--yang-huiyan-class-of-2003-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yang graduated from Ohio State University as part of the class of 2003</a> with a bachelor's degree in marketing and logistics.But Country Garden's fortunes have waned since. The company remains China's biggest property developer in sales, but its market value has more than halved since the start of the year, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/business/country-garden-china-real-estate.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the New York Times</a>.In July, the company reported <a href="https://www.bgy.com.cn/upload/file/2023-08-01/38770308-1bc2-4902-8b09-c093be8e1051.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sales of 128.76 billion yuan,</a> or $17.8 billion, in the first six months of the year, marking a 30% decrease compared to the same period last year.Yang — who became China's richest woman at 25 after the company's IPO — <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-29/who-is-asia-s-richest-woman-savitri-jindal-surpasses-yang-huiyan-on-rich-list#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lost the spot of Asia's richest woman</a> in August 2022 to Savitri Jindal. Jindal is India's richest woman and chairperson emeritus of the Indian conglomerate O.P. Jindal Group, per Bloomberg.On July 30, Yang announced that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-31/country-garden-billionaire-to-transfer-826-million-in-shares" target="_blank" rel="noopener">she was giving away 55% of her shares in Country Garden to a charity founded by her younger sister</a> in a payout then valued at $826 million, per Bloomberg.Country Garden and Yang Huiyan did not respond to requests for comment sent by Insider.

The head of one of the biggest property developers in China was once Asia's richest woman. But her wealth has plunged by 84% since mid-2021 &mdash; and now her company's teetering on the brink of a crisis.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Country Garden, a massive Chinese property developer, missed interest payments on two dollar bonds this week.</li><li>Investors are watching whether Country Garden's chair, Yang Huiyan, will use her own money to support the company.</li></ul>China's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-real-estate-property-market-speculation-debt-crackdown-xi-jinping-2023-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">real-estate crisis</a> is getting real for its billionaires, with Country Garden's chairperson caught in its crosshairs.Bondholders are watching if Country Garden's chair, Yang Huiyan, will use her vast fortune to pump money into the company which is currently facing a liquidity crisis, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-10/country-garden-billionaire-bags-big-payouts-while-default-looms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg report on Friday.</a>The company was founded by her father Yeung Kwok Keung — who is also referred to as Yang Guoqiang — in 1992.On Friday, Yang and her family expect to receive dividends that collectively pay out more than the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/chinas-country-garden-missed-two-dollar-bond-coupon-payments-2023-08-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$22.5 million interest payments</a> on two dollar bonds that Country Garden missed on Monday. The company has a 30-day grace period before it goes into official default.On Friday, Yang could receive $28 million in dividends from her personal stake in Country Garden's services unit, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-10/country-garden-billionaire-bags-big-payouts-while-default-looms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg calculations.</a> A foundation owned by her family could also receive another $35 million in dividend payouts, per the media outlet.The embattled real-estate company <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-01/country-garden-faces-2-9-billion-payment-amid-liquidity-crunch">faces 7.8 billion Chinese yuan, or $1.1 billion, in payments</a> for notes and bonds in September.The scrutiny on Yang's next move follows the precedent from real-estate giant peer Evergrande. The company's founder, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-tells-evergrande-founder-to-repay-debt-with-own-money-2021-10">Hui Ka Yan, was reportedly told by Beijing in late 2021</a> to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/evergrande-founder-uses-1-billion-own-money-keep-company-going-2021-11">use his own money</a> to pay down the company's $300 billion debt pile.<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/country-garden-china-asia-richest-woman-wealth-drop-property-crisis-2023-8">Once China's richest woman,</a> 42-year-old Yang is holding onto a $5.3 billion fortune as of August 11 after her wealth tanked by 46.4% so far this year, according to the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/huiyan-yang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg Billionaires Index.</a> Most of her wealth comes from a 52.60% stake in Country Garden Holdings, Insider previously reported.On Thursday, <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0810/2023081001200.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Country Garden said in a profit warning</a> that it has been working on "self-rescue by all means," including securing its cash flow, expanding financing, and cutting expenditures.While Thursday's stock exchange filing states Yang has given "strong support" to the company in the past, Country Garden did not specifically state if the family will continue supporting the company amid the crisis.Yang and her family pumped in about 38.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $4.9 billion, of liquidity into the company through loans, by increasing their shareholding, as well as purchasing bonds and scrip dividends, the filing said.Country Garden is expected to record a net loss between 45 billion to 55 billion yuan for the first half of 2023 due to "severe difficulties and challenges" for the property market since 2021, per the filing. In comparison, the property giant reported <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-country-garden-posts-90-dip-2022-core-profit-record-net-loss-2023-03-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a net loss</a> of <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0330/2023033000645.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6.1 billion yuan in 2022</a> — the company's <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-30/china-s-largest-developer-posts-first-loss-since-2007-listing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first full-year loss</a> since its 2007 listing in Hong Kong.And analysts are already trying to get a reading on the underlying messaging from the company's announcement."We think this is likely the prelude to an ultimate credit event, and the company might already be in preparation for debt restructuring," JPMorgan Chase analysts wrote in a Friday note responding to the company's announcement.Country Garden's next move will very much depend on Beijing's stance, Iris Chen, an analyst at Nomura, wrote in a Thursday note seen by Insider."We believe conversations with the regulator will be important during this period, and the company will make a decision based on the government's attitude, especially as the central government is pushing for property sector easing at the current moment," Chen added.Country Garden did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.Hong Kong-listed Country Garden Holdings shares are down 6% to 98 Hong Kong cents apiece at last check. They are down 58% so far this year.

Investors are now eyeing Country Garden chairperson's huge $5.3 billion fortune for help with the struggling property developer's dues

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Property giant Country Garden has had a bad week. It missed interest payments and issued a profit warning.</li><li>The warning is a "prelude to an ultimate credit event," paving the way for debt restructuring, per JPMorgan.</li></ul>Embattled Chinese property developer Country Garden may be preparing to enter a debt restructuring, JPMorgan Chase analysts wrote in a Friday note seen by Insider.Country Garden racked up 1.4 trillion Chinese yuan, or almost $200 billion, in liabilities at the end of 2022. It also <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-01/country-garden-faces-2-9-billion-payment-amid-liquidity-crunch" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">faces 7.8 billion Chinese yuan, or $1.1 billion, in payments</a> for notes and bonds in September.JPMorgan's assessment came after the property developer issued a <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0810/2023081001200.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profit warning </a><a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0810/2023081001200.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Thursday.</a> The real-estate giant expects to record a net loss between 45 billion to 55 billion yuan for the first half of 2023 due to "severe difficulties and challenges" for the property market since 2021. To contextualize the profit warning, Country Garden reported <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-country-garden-posts-90-dip-2022-core-profit-record-net-loss-2023-03-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">a net loss</a> of <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0330/2023033000645.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">6.1 billion yuan in 2022</a> amid a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/country-garden-china-real-estate-problems-explainer-evergrande-2023-8">property crisis in China.</a> It was the company's <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-30/china-s-largest-developer-posts-first-loss-since-2007-listing" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">first full-year loss</a> since its 2007 listing in Hong Kong.While the expected net loss isn't a surprise, "what's more important is management admitting that CG is facing serious difficulties," wrote a group of JPMorgan analysts led by Karl Chan, the bank's head of research for China property equity."We think this is likely the prelude to an ultimate credit event, and the company might already be in preparation for debt restructuring," the JPMorgan analysts wrote.JPMorgan's assessment came amid Chinese financial media outlet <a href="https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/exclusive-country-garden-sinks-as-troubled-developer-is-said-to-start-debt-restructuring-soon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yicai</a> reporting Friday that Country Garden hired China International Capital Corporation, or CICC, to soon lead a debt restructuring. The news has been picked up by various media outlets including <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/china-property-debt-country-garden/country-garden-is-preparing-for-debt-restructuring-soon-yicai-idUSK7N39A011" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters.</a>Another analyst feels Country Garden could restructure if it's unable to raise cash in time.Country Garden's liquidity position is "very stretched," with dollar coupon payments scheduled every month for the remainder of this year, Nicholas Chen, CreditInsights' analyst for Chinese corporates, told Insider.The developer is likely to raise cash in various ways, including selling its assets and injecting shareholders' funds but "should these be insufficient, Country Garden would likely default and enter into a comprehensive debt restructuring," Chen added.Country Garden is the latest high-profile Chinese real-estate giant to face a liquidity crunch in two years as China's economy struggles to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic.The drama at the private developer is renewing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-xi-jinping-evergrande-debt-american-world-fallout-2021-10">contagion fears</a> that trouble in the world's second-largest economy could spill over to other sectors in the country and globally.However, Beijing is likely to "defend the line" between privately owned and state-owned enterprises to prevent a spillover effect, Iris Chen, an analyst at Nomura, wrote in a Thursday note. Privately owned enterprises "will be on their own, and their upcoming maturities will be key to evaluating their survival possibility," Chen added.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-property-crisis-country-garden-yang-huiyan-dividends-bond-default-2023-8">Country Garden's bondholders, meanwhile, are watching</a> if Country Garden's chair, Yang Huiyan, will use her vast fortune to pump money into the company which is currently facing a liquidity crisis, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-10/country-garden-billionaire-bags-big-payouts-while-default-looms" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Bloomberg report on Friday.</a>Country Garden closed 6% lower at 98 Hong Kong cents, or 13 cents, apiece after hitting a record low of 89 Hong Kong cents on Friday. They are 63% lower so far this year.Country Garden and CICC did not immediately respond to requests from Insider for comment.

Country Garden, one of China's real-estate behemoths, could look at restructuring its debt after missing key interest payments this week: JPMorgan

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Country Garden, a massive Chinese property developer, missed interest payments on two dollar bonds this week.</li><li>"Any default would impact China's housing market more than Evergrande's collapse," an analyst said.</li></ul>Two years after Evergrande's default triggered mayhem in the global markets, China's ailing property sector is teetering on the brink of another crisis.On Tuesday, Country Garden, the country's biggest private-sector developer by sales, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/chinas-country-garden-missed-two-dollar-bond-coupon-payments-2023-08-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">missed interest payments on two US-dollar-denominated bonds</a>.The company now has a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/latest-china-developer-debt-woes-could-spur-policy-aid-industry-downbeat-2023-08-09/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">30-day grace period</a> to avoid an official default. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-09/country-garden-shows-even-china-s-once-mighty-builders-at-brink">On Wednesday</a>, Kristy Hung, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, wrote: "Any default would impact China's housing market more than Evergrande's collapse as Country Garden has four times as many projects."A debt crisis at Country Garden will have a far-reaching impact on China's housing market sentiment and could significantly weaken buyer confidence on solvent private developers, she added.The developer built over <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/china-s-property-crisis-reaches-biggest-builder-country-garden-1.1708093" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3,000 housing projects</a> all across China. This compares to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/construction-has-resumed-95-china-evergrande-projects-unit-says-2022-04-02/">over 700 projects Evergrande has across China</a>.The size of the debt tells a different picture. Evergrande's total liabilities amounted to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/evergrandes-overdue-results-show-steep-losses-market-eyes-liquidity-update-2023-07-17/">2.4 trillion yuan</a>, or about $333 billion last year. It eclipses Country Garden's debt which was $200 billion at the end of last year. However, it's the scale of Country Garden's projects that is a big warning signal for the Chinese real estate sector and the wider economy. <h2>What is Country Garden? </h2>Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed Country Garden has been one of the few major private developers <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/09/economy/country-garden-china-property-default-intl-hnk/index.html#:~:text=1%20by%20sales%20last%20year,province%20on%20October%2031%2C%202021." target="_blank" rel="noopener">to side-step a default</a> ever since a liquidity crisis plagued the Chinese property sector in 2021.While Country Garden was the top developer by sales in China last year, it slipped to the <a href="https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/20230601-01-sales-at-chinas-top-100-property-developers-fall-14-in-may" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fifth position in the first six months of 2023.</a>The company reported annual revenues of 430 billion yuan, or $60 billion, in 2022, down about 18% year-on-year, per the report. Moody's expects the developer revenues to drop to about $328 billion this year and to about $271 billion next year, according to a report released on Monday.The developer employed about 70,000 people at the end of last year, <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0420/2023042001897.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to its 2022 annual report</a>. Over 60% of Country Garden's domestic projects are located in the Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities — typically having smaller populations — and about 26% are located in Tier 2 cities, per the report.Country Garden was established in 1992 by <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/02/economy/china-property-country-garden-richest-intl-hnk/index.html">farmer-turned-businessman</a> Yang Guoqiang, per CNN. His daughter, Yang Huiyan, <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2023/0301/2023030100075.pdf">took over as chairman earlier this year</a>.The Foshan-based company's stocks have plunged by 20.4% since Monday. Investors are worried about the missed interest payments and the company's <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-01/country-garden-faces-2-9-billion-payment-amid-liquidity-crunch?cmpid=socialflow-facebook-business&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_content=business">decision to scrap</a> a plan to inject about $300 million into the business via a share placement.The share price drop torpedoed the wealth of chairperson Yang, who was <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/08/01/asia-former-richest-woman-property-mogul-yang-huiyan-given-country-garden-charity-payout-826-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">once Asia's wealthiest woman.</a> Yang's net worth is now $5.5 billion, down 84% since June 2021, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per Bloomberg's Billionaires Index</a>. Her wealth tanked by about $490 million on Tuesday alone.<h2>What's the debt problem at Country Garden?</h2>Country Garden <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/chinas-country-garden-missed-two-dollar-bond-coupon-payments-2023-08-08/">confirmed to Reuters</a> it missed interest payments of about <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/chinas-country-garden-missed-two-dollar-bond-coupon-payments-2023-08-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$22.5 million</a> on two bonds that are due in February 2026 and August 2030. The company had almost <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/93601476-0c7a-452a-af33-6cc0153acac7">$200 billion in liabilities</a> at the end of 2022.<a href="https://m.thepaper.cn/rss_newsDetail_24153464?from=sohu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State-owned media outlet Paper.cn</a> reported Tuesday that Country Garden suffered temporary liquidity pressure and was seeking funds to resolve the debt crunch, citing an unnamed company source, per CNN's translation of the report.Moody's even downgraded Country Garden's credit rating to B1 from Ba3 — meaning the debt is <a href="https://www.moodys.com/sites/products/productattachments/ap075378_1_1408_ki.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered a risky investment</a>."The developer's struggle to address even a modest coupon payment underscores the extent of its cash crunch," wrote Sandra Chow, the co-head of Asia-Pacific Research at CreditSights, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/business/country-garden-china-real-estate.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per the New York Times</a>. <h2>How are the Country Garden and Evergrande problems different?</h2>The two crises are different in that the number of Country Garden's projects dwarf that of Evergrande, and that the economy is now even <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/china-economic-data-likely-show-recovery-is-fading-quickly-2023-07-16/">worse off than it was three years ago</a>.Evergrande was once the country's second-largest developer by sales. The company <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/china-property-crisis-evergrande-81-billion-loss-housing-economic-slowdown-2023-7?_gl=1*rsznn6*_ga*MzE2MjY1NjEwLjE2ODgxMTM0MjM.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY5MTQ4OTM4Ni4xNjMuMS4xNjkxNDg5OTYyLjM0LjAuMA..&amp;utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">fueled its growth largely through borrowings</a> — at one time becoming the biggest dollar-debt holder among its peers.Repaying that burgeoning debt became a herculean task. Evergrande faced a liquidity crisis in 2020, prodding it to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-27/china-evergrande-s-rise-massive-default-and-debt-restructuring" target="_blank" rel="noopener">try to halve its around $100 billion debt by mid-2023</a>.These efforts were scuppered by a slowdown in China's property sector and regulators' efforts to put brakes on property developers borrowing excessively. All these factors led to a <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/evergrande-default-debt-crisis-dollar-bonds-china-property-moelis-2021-10">default in late-2021</a>.But things are different now.The Chinese economy is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-debt-economy-implode-stock-market-wall-street-xi-jinping-2023-6">in deep trouble</a> after years of on-off COVID-19 lockdowns. The country is trying to reverse years of crackdowns and boost its flagging economy with a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-stimulus-measures-but-property-tech-consumption-not-enough-2023-7" rel="">round of economic stimulus</a> aimed at boosting consumption rather than stimulating supply.Even so, broader economic uncertainty, a record-high<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-gdp-economy-second-quarter-growth-retail-industrial-production-unemployment-2023-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> youth unemployment rate, and slower economic growth</a> could dash revival hopes. Fewer people want to buy homes in this environment, and all these factors are compounding Country Garden's troubles.<h2>Why does real estate matter so much in China?</h2>China's real estate sector <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/09/business/country-garden-yang-huiyan-fortune/index.html">is so big</a> that it makes up about <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/pboc-props-chinas-housing-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">30% of its GDP,</a> per a report <a href="https://www.caixabankresearch.com/en/sector-analysis/real-estate/chinas-real-estate-sector-size-does-matter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spain's Caixa Bank</a> released in January 2022.The country's property craze was largely fueled by debt — a double-edged sword, allowing the country's property developers to take huge borrowings to build apartments ahead of demand while increasing default risks, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-real-estate-property-market-speculation-debt-crackdown-xi-jinping-2023-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider's Huileng Tan reported on Monday.</a>Beijing has tried to temper this debt-fueled growth for years. In 2020, China introduced the so-called<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-06/china-may-ease-three-red-lines-property-rules-in-drastic-shift" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> "three red lines" policy</a> which tried to regulate debt ratios for property developers to keep the debt burdens in check.However, putting the brakes on borrowing started sending the property <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-property-sector-crisis-imf-economy-debt-2023-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sector into a crisis</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-housing-market-explainer-cost-debt-wealth-evergrande-impact-2021-9">Evergrande defaulted on a huge mountain of debt</a>, which subsequently snowballed into a property crisis wherein other smaller developers began <a href="https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-07-31/cover-story-chinas-property-crisis-contagion-spreads-to-state-backed-developers-102087880.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">defaulting on their bond payments.</a>These sector-specific defaults also spurred concerns that trouble would spill into the Chinese domestic market — and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-xi-jinping-evergrande-debt-american-world-fallout-2021-10">even the world economy</a>.Country Garden did not respond to Insider's request for a comment.

China's heading for another real estate crisis &mdash; but it's on a whole different scale than what it's seen before

Top 50 richest people In the world: Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire

<ul><li>Zhong Huijuan, an ex-chemistry teacher has become Asia’s wealthiest self-made woman — with a fortune worth $10.5 billion. </li><li>This fortune came from a sudden surge in the shares (37%) of the Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group. Zhong has a 68% stake in the company. </li><li>Zhong surpassed her husband in terms of wealth — the couple is now one of the richest pharma families in the world.</li></ul>Zhong Huijuan, a 58-year-old ex-chemistry teacher, became the wealthiest<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-14/ex-chemistry-teacher-becomes-richest-self-made-woman-in-asia"> self-made woman</a> in Asia, and the second-richest woman in Asia after Yang Huiyan, the co-chairman of Country Garden Holdings. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Huijuan is worth $10.5 billion — thanks to her investments in Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group. In 1995, Zhong ventured into the drug business Hansoh, quitting her teaching profession. The transition has paid off, very well. Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group is presently China’s largest psychotropic drug maker. On Friday, the sudden surge in shares — 37% — of the pharmaceutical company, made her the wealthiest self-made woman in Asia. Her stake in the company is at<a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/good-news/2019/jun/15/ex-chemistry-teacher-becomes-richest-self-made-woman-in-asia-with-105-billion-fortune-1990622.html"> 68%</a> — which added $7.9 billion to her fortune. Zhong surpassed her husband Sun Piaoyang in terms of wealth — who is worth $9.2 billion — he earned in Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co, also a drug manufacturer. This recent surge has made the couple one of the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3014265/ex-chemistry-teacher-zhong-huijuan-poised-become-chinas-third">richest pharma families</a> of the world. They are now in close competition with Mortimer and Raymond Sackler of Purdue Pharma, which manufacturers <a href="https://www.jta.org/2019/05/22/united-states/who-are-the-sacklers-the-family-at-the-center-of-the-opioid-crisis">OxyContin</a>. Also in the list are Sweedish Bertarelli family which earned $16.3 billion fortune from drugs and pharmaceuticals. The government of China has contributed largely to Zhong’s success. Last year, the country’s healthcare spending<a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/chemistry-teacher-who-founded-pharma-firm-now-worth-108-billion"> increased to 5.9 trillion yuan </a>($852 billion) from 3.5 trillion yuan in 2014. According to the All China Women’s Foundation, Zhong used to teach Chemistry in a middle-school in the 1990s — which she quit to get into the drug business. The company is into cancer treatment, research and production of drugs for the treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/meet-the-top-10-richest-women-in-the-world/articleshow/68318378.cms">Meet the top 10 richest women in the world</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-origin-reuben-singh-who-flaunted-his-rolls-royce-elite-cars-matching-the-turban/articleshow/67845309.cms">Meet Reuben Singh who has stormed the Internet with fancy pictures of his elite cars and is dubbed ‘Europe’s Bill Gates’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/if-mackenzie-bezos-gets-half-of-jeff-bezos-fortune-shed-become-the-fourth-richest-person-in-the-world-160and-hed-fall-from-no-1/articleshow/67477846.cms">If MacKenzie Bezos gets half of Jeff Bezos' fortune, she'd become the fourth-richest person in the world - and he'd fall from No. 1</a>

How a chemistry teacher became Asia's richest woman worth $10.5 billion

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ca668c28629137c396ca854-2000/jeff bezos mackenzie bezos.jpg" border="0" alt="jeff bezos mackenzie bezos" data-mce-source="Emma McIntyre/Getty Images" />Emma McIntyre/Getty ImagesAfter divorcing Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Bezos won't become the world's richest woman.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-makes-every-day-hour-minute-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeff Bezos</a>, founder and CEO of Amazon, and wife <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/mackenzie-bezos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MacKenzie Bezos</a> have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-mackenzie-bezos-divorce-finalized-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">finalized the terms of their divorce</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-mackenzie-bezos-met-jeff-bezos-2019-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MacKenzie Bezos</a> said she's granting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mackenzie-bezos-could-be-richest-woman-after-divorce-jeff-bezos-2019-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeff Bezos</a> all of her interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, and <a href="https://twitter.com/mackenziebezos/status/1113851260040503296" target="_blank" rel="noopener">75% of the Amazon stock</a> co-owned by the pair.</li><li>Depending on exactly how much money she gets, this is set to leave <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mackenzie-bezos-jeff-bezos-divorce-suitors-twitter-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MacKenzie Bezos</a> as the world's third- or fourth-richest woman, joining the ranks of Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-alice-walton-wealthiest-woman-spends-fortune-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alice Walton</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-makes-every-day-hour-minute-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeff Bezos</a>, founder and CEO of Amazon, and wife <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/mackenzie-bezos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MacKenzie Bezos</a> announced they've <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-mackenzie-bezos-divorce-finalized-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">finalized the terms of their divorce</a> after 25 years of marriage.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-jeff-bezos-mackenzie-divorce-prenup-postnup-2019-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeff Bezos founded Amazon after he and MacKenzie Bezos got married</a>, Business Insider's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/shana-lebowitz">Shana Lebowitz</a> reported. In the community property state of Washington, which dictates assets acquired during marriage to be split 50-50, that means MacKenzie Bezos could have a right to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-mackenzie-net-worth-billionaires-divorce-2019-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">half of her husband's Amazon fortune</a> if they didn't sign a prenup (which they reportedly didn't).That could leave a wife divorcing the world's richest man - who has an estimated net worth of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jeff-bezos/#477e278a1b23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly $150 billion </a>- as the world's richest woman; but that's not quite the case for Mackenzie Bezos.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-mackenzie-bezos-divorce-finalized-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos have finalized their divorce agreement, and he's getting 75% of the Amazon shares and voting control of the rest</a><a href="https://twitter.com/mackenziebezos/status/1113851260040503296" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In a Twitter statement on April 4, she</a> said she's granting Jeff Bezos all of her interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, and 75% of the Amazon stock co-owned by the pair, as well as voting control over the shares she's retaining. Her remaining stake in Amazon is estimated to be worth about $35.7 billion at current prices, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-mackenzie-bezos-divorce-finalized-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Insider's Avery Hartmans reported</a>.Depending on exactly how much money MacKenzie gets, she's set to rank as the world's third- or fourth-richest woman, according to various publications. Here's how the world's five richest women currently stack up, according to Forbes' real-time net worth profiles:<ol><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/francoise-bettencourt-meyers/#33aca68f2b06" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Francoise Bettencourt Meyers</a> - $52.9 billion</li><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/alice-walton/#1549d6554eb2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alice Walton</a> - $45.4 billion</li><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jacqueline-mars/#3f7ce4ad5f9b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jacqueline Mars</a> - $25.9 billion</li><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/yang-huiyan/#478d230a2fa0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yang Huiyan</a> - $23.8 billion</li><li><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/susanne-klatten/?list=billionaires#640db34136b4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Susanne Klatten</a> - $20.8 billion</li></ol>MacKenzie Bezos' role in Amazon dates back to the company's origins. She was one of Amazon's first employees and reportedly drove her husband cross-country while he drafted part of the company's business plan, according to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-mackenzie-bezos-met-jeff-bezos-2019-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Insider's Mark Abadi</a>. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vegan-restaurant-college-kid-chef-fried-chicken-brooklyn-nyc-2019-3">Meet the 22-year-old college kid with her own vegan restaurant</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/JYwEjLNg-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

The Bezos divorce won't make MacKenzie the richest woman in the world. Here's how her wealth stacks up against the 5 richest women in the world.

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48559575.cms" /> 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=facebook">Facebook </a>Co-Founder and CEO <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Mark+Zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</a> is the wealthiest individual under the age of 35. Mr. Zuckerberg has a personal wealth of $41.6 billion according to a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Wealth-X">Wealth-X</a> report. 
 Zuckerberg is followed by fellow <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> co-founders <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Dustin+Moskovitz">Dustin Moskovitz</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Eduardo+Saverin+">Eduardo Saverin </a>worth $9.3 billion and $5.3 billion respectively. 
 
Not surprisingly, the top-20 list features only six women. 
 
The richest woman on the list is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Huiyan+Yang">Huiyan Yang</a>, the 34-year-old Vice Chairman of Chinese real estate developer Country Garden Holdings with an estimated net of $5.9 billion. 
 
Wealth-X is a global wealth intelligence and prospecting company. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Mark
Zuckerberg of Facebook world's richest individual under 35

Top 100 richest people in the world: Some interesting facts

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/517005d96bb3f76e0c000007-1200-858/164007884.jpg" border="0" alt="xi jinping chinese president" />Feng Li/Getty Images</div></div></div>Relatives of top Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping and former premier Wen Jiabao have used offshore tax havens to hide their wealth, according to a mammoth investigation released Wednesday.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), citing information culled from 2.5 million leaked documents, said that Xi's brother-in-law and Wen's son and son-in-law were among those with offshore holdings.
It is the latest revelation to shine a light on the hidden wealth of family members of China's top officials, a topic considered off-limits by Communist Party leaders.
Offshore entities can be legal and there was no evidence that the politicians were aware of their relatives' actions.
The release came on the same day that China put leading activist Xu Zhiyong on trial for his part in protests calling for officials to disclose their assets.
It also came days after Wen reportedly penned a letter to a Hong Kong columnist proclaiming his "innocence" over previous claims that his family amassed huge wealth during his decade in power.
The ICIJ cited nearly 22,000 offshore clients from mainland China and Hong Kong, including relatives of former president Hu Jintao, former premier Li Peng and late leader Deng Xiaoping, the man credited with opening up China's economy in the 1980s.
Also included were members of China's National People's Congress, heads of state-owned enterprises and some of the country's wealthiest men and women, including real estate mogul Zhang Xin; Pony Ma and Zhang Zhidong, co-founders of Chinese Internet giant Tencent; and Yang Huiyan, China's richest woman.
ICIJ said it sent letters to the government officials, wealthy individuals and others named in its report.
"Their response in most cases was to not respond, a standard practice in China," it said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters at a regular briefing that "the logic of the article is unconvincing, which cannot but raise questions of ulterior motives".
Asked if the government planned to follow up on the report, Qin responded: "What I want to point out is, the clean will be proved clean and the dirty will be proved dirty."
The confidential files leaked to ICIJ also include the names of 16,000 clients from Taiwan.
Ninety percent of the mainland Chinese clients set up offshore entities in the British Virgin Islands, often with the help of Western firms such as UBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the investigation said. Seven percent were established in Samoa and three percent in other areas.
The British Virgin Islands was the destination of choice for Xi's brother-in-law Deng Jiagui, a wealthy real estate developer and investor who married Xi's older sister in 1996.
According to the report, Deng owns a 50 percent stake in BVI-based company Excellence Effort Property Development.
While such offshore trusts and companies "may not be strictly illegal", they are often linked to "conflict of interest and covert use of government power", Minxin Pei, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in California, told the ICIJ.
In 2012 the New York Times and Bloomberg news agency published investigations into the vast wealth said to have been amassed by family members of Wen and Xi.
Both news organisations have since had their websites blocked in China, and authorities have denounced the reports as an effort to "smear" China's leadership. The ICIJ website was in turn blocked within China on Wednesday.
Last November the New York Times found that US bank JPMorgan hired Wen's daughter as a consultant, part of a broader strategy that the newspaper said was aimed at accumulating influence in China by employing relatives of leaders.
According to the Times report, JPMorgan paid a total of $1.8 million to Fullmark Consultants, a firm set up by Wen's daughter Wen Ruchun, who also goes by the alias "Lily Chang".
The files leaked to ICIJ purported to show Fullmark Consultants was set up in the British Virgin Islands in 2004 by her husband, who was its sole director and shareholder until 2006.
The ICIJ said it collaborated with more than 50 partner organisations across the globe in sifting through the data, including The Guardian, Le Monde in France and Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper.
The websites of all three were not accessible within China on Wednesday.
Ming Pao on Saturday quoted Wen as writing in a letter to a columnist: "I have never been involved and would not get involved in one single deal of abusing my power for personal gain.
"I want to walk the last journey in this world well. I came to this world with bare hands and I want to leave this world clean."
It headlined its story on the ICIJ revelations about Wen but omitted any reference to Xi.
 
<div class="nc_footer">
Copyright (2014) AFP. All rights reserved.
</div>
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You Searched For "yang huiyan" and got 11 results

Asia's richest woman loses more than half her fortune as China's property crisis escalates

IANS

The head of one of the biggest property developers in China was once Asia's richest woman. But her wealth has plunged by 84% since mid-2021 and now her company's teetering on the brink of a crisis.

Kai Xiang Teo

Investors are now eyeing Country Garden chairperson's huge $5.3 billion fortune for help with the struggling property developer's dues

Huileng Tan

Country Garden, one of China's real-estate behemoths, could look at restructuring its debt after missing key interest payments this week: JPMorgan

Huileng Tan

China's heading for another real estate crisis but it's on a whole different scale than what it's seen before

Nidhi Pandurangi

Top 50 richest people In the world: Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire

BI India Partner

How a chemistry teacher became Asia's richest woman worth $10.5 billion

Prerna Sindwani

The Bezos divorce won't make MacKenzie the richest woman in the world. Here's how her wealth stacks up against the 5 richest women in the world.

Hillary Hoffower

Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook world's richest individual under 35

BI India Bureau

Top 100 richest people in the world: Some interesting facts

BI India Bureau

China Leaders' Families Stash Riches In The British Virgin Islands

Agence France Presse