Hui Ka Yan, property tycoon, once the second-richest person in Asia, has now lost most of his personal wealth, as well as his place on China’s top political advisory body.
He’s down to about $3 billion from $42 billion, which once made him the second-richest person in Asia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Hui is also finding himself increasingly isolated politically. Hui was told last year not to attend the annual convention of the political advisory body which he has been part of since 2008. He had also been part its elite 300-member standing committee since 2013,
Hui, whose property empire became the biggest casualty of the nation’s credit crunch is now excluded from the latest list of those who’ll form the CPPCC for the next five years, which was released on Wednesday.
While his exclusion is striking given the position he once held, Hui has lots of company. Shimao Group Holdings Ltd.’s Hui Wing Mau, Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. Ltd. co-founder Zhang Li and Hoi Kin Hong of Powerlong Real Estate Holdings Ltd. are among the property magnates no longer part of the CPPCC, according to Bloomberg.
The new CPPCC members will head to Beijing in March for the group’s 14th National Committee to discuss everything from political and social issues to new laws and the nation’s growth.
“The CPPCC role is like an honorary reward that China gives to faithful business people to make contributions to the country,” said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who has authored several books about Chinese politics.
“It’s not surprising at all that property tycoons like Hui, who created trouble in the property sector with their over-leveraging, are out of the list.”
Hui, the first high profile real estate tycoon to feel the squeeze saw his his valuation on Bloomberg’s wealth list tumbled after the money Evergrande said its founder injected into the developer and demands from creditors wete accounted for.
Evergrande first defaulted on dollar bonds in 2021 and has more than $16 billion of outstanding dollar notes. After missing several self-imposed deadlines to deliver a preliminary restructuring blueprint, it proposed this week a restructuring plan with two options, people familiar with the matter said, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Its shares have been suspended for almost a year after the company failed to report 2021 results, and PwC resigned as its auditor on Monday.
China’s five richest property tycoons lost about $65 billion combined in the past two years, Bloomberg’s wealth index shows.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
