The richest woman in Asia loses half of her fortune in the China crisis

Regarded as the richest woman in Asia because she already has a net worth of $23.7 billion (about R$123.6 billion), the largest shareholder in Chinese real estate company Country Garden, Yang Huiyan, saw her fortune halve with the real estate market crisis that hit China in 2021.

According to information from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, today Yang’s fortune is $11.3 billion (about R$58.9 billion).

Just yesterday, according to the Bloomberg Index, Yang lost nearly 2 billion US dollars (about 10.4 billion Brazilian reals). The loss made the billionaire close to dropping to the second place in the list of the richest people in Asia, and he almost lost the place to businesswoman Fan Hongwei, whose fortune is now 11.2 billion US dollars (about 58, 4 billion Brazilian reais).

Yang’s rapid decline highlights fears that China’s subprime mortgage crisis will eventually paralyze its financial system and financing channels, even for Country Garden, its largest property developer.

While the Chinese giant’s bonds held up relatively well at the start of the housing crisis, its shares are now heading for their worst month since 2011, and one of its bonds hit a record low last week. The company’s shares fell 15 percent yesterday, the largest decline since March.

Last month, ratings agency Moody’s lowered Country Garden’s credit rating and changed its outlook to negative, citing a deteriorating financial situation and poor access to long-term financing.

Founded in the southern city of Foshan by Yeung Kwok Keung, Country Garden has grown rapidly over the past three decades with the development of the country’s real estate market.

Young then transferred his stake to Yang, his second daughter, in 2005 after she joined the company as his personal assistant to eventually succeed him. The 25-year-old Ohio State University graduate was the richest woman in China. She became Vice President of Country Garden in 2012 and co-chair in 2018.