- Qiu Guanghe
$3.7 BILLION T
SOURCE: RETAIL
AGE: 64. MARRIED, 2 CHILDREN
RESIDENCE: WENZHOU
Qiu’s brick-and-mortar apparel retailer Semir has
held its own amid a wave of consumers switching
to online stores. It’s pursuing growth abroad; in
September Semir’s Balabala children’s clothing
brand signed a cooperation agreement under
which Saudi Arabia’s M.A. Al Abdul Karim may
open up to 50 Balabala stores in the country in
the next 5 years; 3 stores are expected to open
by the end of 2016. - Shi Yuzhu
$3.7 BILLION S
SOURCE: ONLINE GAMES, INVESTMENTS
AGE: 54. DIVORCED, 1 CHILD
RESIDENCE: SHANGHAI
China investor’s fortune grew this year after he
relisted his online game business Giant Interactive
on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under the name
Chongqing New Century Cruise; trading has been
halted since July amid some asset restructuring.
(He delisted it from the New York Stock Exchange
in 2014.) Shi also has a stake in delivery firm YTO
Express, whose chairman Yu Huijiao debuts on this list
at No. 13. Shi has co-invested with Alibaba’s Jack Ma in
Shenzhen-listed cable TV firm Wasu Media Holding. - Frank Wang
$3.6 BILLION WX
SOURCE: DRONES
AGE: 35. MARRIED
RESIDENCE: SHENZHEN
Wang is founder and CEO of SZ DJI Technology,
a closely held robotics firm that’s valued at
$8 billion by investors and had estimated 2015
revenue of $1 billion. Shenzhen-based DJI is big
in the consumer-drone market; its flagship model
is the Phantom. In September DJI unveiled the
Mavic, a smaller, foldable drone. We estimate that
Wang owns about 45% of the company, which
he founded in 2006 from his dorm room at Hong
Kong University of Science & Technology.
M
ore than $1.6 billion of losses from three Septem-
ber typhoons in coastal Fujian Province exemplify
the unpredictability that inspired native son Xu
Shihui at an early age to spread prod-
uct risk. “If you only have one brand,
you could be wiped out,” he says.
In 1989 Xu, seen in a grainy old
photo at his headquarters in Quan-
zhou, started out in the cookie busi-
ness. Shortly thereafter he amassed
120 brands. Today he’s down to three
beverages (Heqinzheng tea, Hi-Tiger
energy drink and Daliyuan peanut
milk) and three bakeries (Copico
chips, Daliyuan pies and Haochidian
snacks). They were enough to propel
Xu’s Dali Food to an IPO one year ago
that has him debuting on this year’s
list with an estimated $6 billion.
Dali is gearing up to launch a
soybean drink next year, working to keep his current annual
average of 20% of sales coming from new products—double
the industry’s performance. “People say China is slowing
down and there’s no opportunity,” Xu says. “I think there is
plenty of opportunity.”Dali’s profit grew 24% in the first half to $525 million.
Good planning, speedy execution, lean manufacturing, niche
products and valuable distribution partners can be credited, he
says. Add prudence to that: Dali had
$1 billion in cash on its books at year
end 2015 and hardly any debt, which,
reflects Xu’s deep aversion to risk.
At age 58 he is in the oice seven
days a week and hopes his work
style inspires managers to emulate
him. (He met FORBES ASIA there
during a national holiday.) He’s the
son of a laborer who got a job at Dali
when it was a collective. He amassed
shares by proving that he was a lead-
er who’d turn the business around.
Going national in 1998 was a turning
point, he says, which gave him the
scale to juice the return from prod-
uct introductions. He-Tiger sales,
for example, were up 70% in the first half of 2016.
Many of Dali’s product ideas come from a market research
department, Xu says. But he helps boost appeal with paid
endorsements from actress Zhao Wei and other celebrities.
—R.F. and Li KedaRISING FACES
Hi-Tiger at the Helm
Xu ShihuiWE PASSIONATELY LIVE PURE PRIVATE BANKING.