University VP becomes Shaanxi's wealthiest with 45b yuan worth of stake

A female vice president of a Chinese university was found to be the wealthiest in Shaanxi Province by co-sharing over 45 billion yuan (HK$48.7 billion) worth of stake in two listed companies with her husband.

Fan Daidi, the vice president of Northwest University who took office in April this year, and her husband have attracted widespread attention by becoming the new richest people in Shaanxi, according to mainland media.

The two founded the Hong Kong-listed Giant Biogene (2367), China's largest collagen professional skin care products company. The company is also one of the world's largest producers of collagen-based skin care products.

However, before becoming vice president of the university, Fan withdrew from the firm. At present, Fan does not serve at the firm and is not among the major shareholders, according to mainland media.

Fan, 59, graduated from the East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai with a PhD in bioengineering. She then joined Northwest University in Xi’an, Shaanxi, where she worked in biomedical development, and served as deputy director and dean of the School of Chemical Engineering. 

In 2000, Fan's high-density fermentation of a human collagen produced by genetic engineering technology was announced, and in 2001 she applied for China's first patent on a restructured collagen invention – "human-like collagen and its production method."

In September of the same year, Fan Daidi and her husband founded Giant Biogene. 

In 2019, the firm became the largest collagen-based professional skin care company in China, and in November 2022, the company was listed on the Hong Kong stock market. 

According to reports, Fan and her husband Yan Jianya, have two listed companies under their names – Giant Biogene and the Shenzhen-listed Xi'an Triangle Defense. As of May 15, the market capitalization of Giant Bio was HK$90 billion and that of Triangle Defense was 14.3 billion yuan. The combined market value of Fan and Yan's holdings amounted to about 45.7 billion yuan.

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