Pinduoduo founder is now China's third richest

The founder of PDD Holdings saw his wealth swell by US$13.8 billion (HK$107.3 billion) in 12 months as a slowing global economy drove more shoppers to the Chinese company's discount e-commerce platforms Temu and Pinduoduo, an annual rich list showed yesterday.

Colin Huang, who founded PDD in 2015 and stepped down as chief executive in 2020, was the fastest riser in this year's Hurun Rich List, leaping seven places to be ranked China's third richest man with a US$37.2 billion fortune. It also marked the first time he had broken into the top three.

The growth of his fortune reflects the changing e-commerce landscape both in China, where consumer confidence remains low after three years of Covid curbs, and abroad where shopping platforms such as Temu and Shein are gaining steam.

Jack Ma Yun, founder of rival Alibaba (9988), which is going through a restructuring and working to fend off competition from the likes of PDD, fell one spot from 2022 to 10th, and the number of Alibaba shareholders on the list fell from 18 last year to 12 this year.

Richard Liu, who founded e-commerce giant JD.com (9618), also saw his wealth and that of his wife Zhang Zetian fall by US$6.2 billion to US$8.26 billion.

Meanwhile, JD.com and Alibaba are all set for the Double 11 or Singles Day shopping festival, with Alibaba kicking presales yesterday.

They have pledged to make price cuts, distribute coupons to consumers and provide discounts on over 80 million products.

JD started its presales on Monday, a week earlier than previous years, offering more than 500 million discounted products.