China's richest women named in annual list

With a fortune of 175 billion yuan ($24.68 billion), Yang Huiyan, vice-chairwoman of Country Garden, has been crowned China's richest woman for the third consecutive year, according to the Hurun Richest Women in China 2019 list released by Hurun Research Institute.

Wu Yajun, chairwoman of Longfor Properties, ranked second with a personal wealth of 85 billion yuan, followed by Zhong Huijuan, chairwoman of Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group, with 84 billion yuan.

The collective wealth of the top 50 female entrepreneurs on the list was 1.3 trillion yuan, while average wealth rose 25 percent year-on-year to 26.9 billion yuan, a fourfold increase from 10 years ago.

This year, the minimum threshold for the top 50 rose 11 percent to a record high of 10.5 billion yuan, while the threshold for the top 10 rose 15 percent to 31 billion yuan.

Beijing, with 12 billionaires, was still China's top billionaire city, followed by Shenzhen with eight. Foshan in South China's Guangdong province and its five billionaires overtook Shanghai and Hong Kong, grabbing third place this year.

Among the nine newcomers in this year's rankings, the most eye-catching figure is Lu Zhongfang. With a personal wealth of 41.5 billion yuan, Lu, 77, is the founder of Offcn Education Technology, a private institution that offers training for the civil service exam. This year Lu entered the top 10 for the first time and ranked eighth.

Shu Ping and Li Haiyan, two of the co-founders of Haidilao International Holding Ltd, China's biggest hotpot restaurant chain, both saw their wealth increase by 16 billion yuan.

Industries such as real estate, manufacturing and financial investments are the major sources of wealth for female entrepreneurs on the list, accounting for 23, 20 and 17 percent respectively.