Markets chaos is a roller-coaster ride for China’s billionaires
Asia’s richest person Wang Jianlin among those whose losses – and gains – were in the tens of billions of yuan
Tens of billions of yuan were wiped from portfolios overnight while thousands of listed companies in the mainland, Hong Kong and Nasdaq fell sharply in the stock rout between July 1 and 8.
However, the billionaires might now be able to breathe more easily thanks to a strong recovery following the government’s rescue measures.
Wang Jianlin, Asia’s richest person and chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, might have been one of the biggest losers last week.
He and his family were estimated to have lost as much as 39.8 billion yuan (HK$50 billion) as share prices of his two public companies, Hong Kong-listed Wanda Commercial Properties and Shenzhen-listed Wanda Cinema Line, both slumped by 19 per cent during the first week of this month.
To avoid further risk, Wanda Cinema Line applied to suspend trading from July 8, a protective strategy adopted by half of the listed companies in the mainland earlier last week.
But the property and entertainment tycoon has already recovered part of his loss, with the share price of Wanda Commercial Properties rising 17 per cent on Thursday and Friday. The surge buoyed Wang’s wealth with an additional HK$21.1 billion.