Pinduoduo founder gains $30b in a single day

June Chen and Bloomberg

Four Chinese billionaires ranked on the first 10 net worth gains list yesterday, with Colin Huang Zheng, founder of e-commerce operator Pinduoduo, earning US$3.82 billion (HK$29.76 billion) in one day, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Like Huang two others are from the technology industry. The fourth is from real estate.

Huang ranked first on yesterday's daily net worth growth list after US-listed Pinduoduo's shares rose 8 percent on October 1.

Zhu Yan, who inherited the fortune and shares held by his late husband Zuo Hui, founder of real estate sales group KE Holdings, saw her net worth surge by 20 percent or US$983 million.

She ranked fourth. KE's price rose by 17 percent yesterday, closing at HK$69.95 apiece.

William Ding Lei, chief executive of internet services and online games provider NetEase, saw his net worth jump by US$908 million.

NetEase's share price increased by 6.58 percent in Hong Kong and soared from HK$124 on September 23 to HK$160 yesterday in six trading days, helping Ding rank fifth.

Jack Ma Yun, cofounder of Alibaba, ranked ninth, with his net value increasing by 2 percent or US$605 million to US$36.9 billion.

Alibaba's stock price rose by 4.6 percent to HK$115 apiece.

The collective fortunes of the 54 Chinese people on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index jumped about 19 percent in the week that ended September 30, the largest on record for a week-long wealth gain among the country's tycoons since the ranking started tracking the world's richest 500 people in 2016.

China's moguls have seen almost US$130 billion of combined wealth added over the period, according to the index.

Chinese stocks have surged more than 25 percent since last Monday after Beijing unveiled a series of measures to revive moribund growth, including cutting interest rates, lowering reserve requirements for banks and easing rules for home purchases.

The benchmark CSI 300 Index rose nine straight days, capped by an 8.5 percent surge on Monday, the most since 2008.

It is a sharp reversal from the crackdowns many sectors have endured over the past three years that wiped out billions for the country's property tycoons and crushed the wealth dreams of bankers and tech workers.

Before the recent rally, the consumer stock rout unseated Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan as China's richest person, a title he had held for more than three years. Zhong is now back on top of the list.

june.chen@singtaonewscorp.com