Chinese Divorce Creates Canada’s Third-Richest Woman
Chinese Divorce Creates Canada’s Third-Richest Woman
(Bloomberg) -- One of Asia’s costliest breakups has created Canada’s third-richest woman.
A few weeks ago, Yuan Liping received 24% of publicly traded Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. after divorcing Du Weimin, the company’s chairman. With shares of the Chinese vaccine maker surging more than 30% over the past month, the stake was worth $4.7 billion as of Wednesday, propelling Yuan into the ranks of the world’s 500 richest people, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
China’s stock market has added $1.7 trillion in value in the past month, and drugmakers like Kangtai have been among investors’ favorites. The stock closed at a peak on Wednesday after more than doubling since December. The company’s market value now stands at $18.6 billion.
With a $9.5 billion fortune, Sherry Brydson is Canada’s richest woman, followed by Taylor Thomson, who’s worth $5.9 billion. The majority of their wealth comes from Thomson Reuters Corp. stakes they inherited.
Yuan, 49 this year, holds a Canadian passport and resides in Shenzhen. She owns the Kangtai shares directly but signed an agreement delegating the voting rights to her ex-husband, according to a May 29 filing disclosing the division of assets.
She serves as the vice general manager of Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co., a Kangtai subsidiary, and was a Kangtai director between May 2011 and August 2018, the filing shows.
Her ex-husband Du, who owns about 27% of Kangtai, is worth $4.6 billion after excluding the value of the shares he pledged, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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