Asia's top 3 billionaires all Chinese
chinadaily.com.cn, December 18, 2014 Adjust font size:
Chinese real estate mogul Wang Jianlin trails Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba, and Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing among Asia's wealthiest, with the three controlling a combined fortune of $81.5 billion, according to Bloomberg on Wednesday.
The 60-year-old, beating India's richest person Mukesh Ambani, became Asia's third-richest person, as he prepares to sell shares of the country's biggest commercial property developer in an initial public offering.
The real estate tycoon's fortune jumped 63 percent to $24.8 billion. Ambani has a net worth of $20.4 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co plans to raise about $3.7 billion in the offering and start trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Dec 23.
The IPO will "enhance its equity base and capital structure," Kaven Tsang, vice president and senior analyst at Moody's, said in a statement, adding that the offering will in addition "expand its investors base and enhance its already strong liquidity position for the purposes of business growth."
The billionaire and his family will own about 54 percent of Wanda's flagship company directly and through its parent company after the IPO.
According to Bloomberg, Wang's other assets include a department store chain and almost 80 percent of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, the second-largest cinema chain in the US. He also owns 68 percent of Wanda Cinema Line, a domestic chain that plans an IPO in Shenzhen.
