Due to Government Regulations... 95 Trillion Won of Assets Vanish from Chinese Tech Conglomerates

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Due to the crackdown on big tech by Chinese authorities, the asset valuations of major Chinese tech company owners have evaporated by $80 billion (approximately 94.76 trillion KRW).

According to Bloomberg's billionaire index on the 29th (local time), the net worth of 10 Chinese tech tycoons decreased by $80 billion this year as a result of the massive regulatory crackdown by Chinese authorities and the subsequent plunge in stock prices. This amount corresponds to about one-quarter of their total combined assets.

Bloomberg described this as the largest annual decline since it began tracking the billionaire index in 2012.

Colin Huang, founder of Pinduoduo (Photo by Bloomberg)

Colin Huang, founder of Pinduoduo, China's third-largest e-commerce company, recorded the biggest loss, losing $42.9 billion in net worth. Huang's net worth decreased by 68.5% compared to the previous year.

Pinduoduo, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018, once had a market capitalization of $72.3 billion, making it the largest among Chinese companies. However, due to focused scrutiny such as antitrust regulations by authorities, its stock price has plummeted 70% from its all-time high reached in February.

Following him, Xiaomi Chairman Lei Jun and Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma also saw their assets evaporate by $14.5 billion (46.2%) and $12.6 billion (24.9%) respectively due to sharp declines in stock valuations, while Tencent Chairman Ma Huateng suffered a loss of $10.1 billion (18.0%).

Cheng Wei, founder of Didi Chuxing (Photo by Bloomberg)

Although not in the top 10, Cheng Wei, founder of Didi Chuxing, experienced a rollercoaster year with his net worth fluctuating sharply.

Didi Chuxing went public on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, raising $4.4 billion (approximately 5.22 trillion KRW). It was the largest U.S. IPO since Alibaba Group in 2014, but under pressure from Chinese authorities, its stock price repeatedly crashed, leading to a decision to delist after six months. Didi Chuxing is currently undergoing procedures to relist on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Experts analyze that the golden era of Chinese big tech companies has ended due to regulatory risks from authorities. Chen Zuo, director of the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong, said, "If Chinese tech companies had not accessed the U.S. capital markets, their history would have been very different," adding, "The heyday of Chinese tech companies is already over."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.