Shares of Pinduoduo or PDD fell more this year than shares of Alibaba Group or Tencent Holdings. Colin Chuang, the founder of China’s Pinduoduo e-commerce platform, has lost more wealth this year than anyone else in the world. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the value of its assets fell by more than $ 27 billion (€ 22.92 billion) in the year. His company’s shares fell sharply after China intervened against major Internet giants. This is the largest drop in assets among the index’s 500 members, much larger than the loss of about $ 16 billion to China Evergrande Group Chairman Hua Kcha Yen, whose real estate empire is struggling with a pile of debt. This is the clearest example of how the situation in China’s billionaire class has reversed, as President Xi Jinping demands “common prosperity” and wants to keep private sector companies in check. Shares of Pinduoduo or PDD fell more this year than shares of Alibaba Group or Tencent Holdings. The PDD is “more vulnerable to government intervention than other technology companies with” advanced and profitable models “such as Alibaba and Tencent, said Kenny Ng, securities strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai in Hong Kong. “This is the main reason why the performance of its shares lags behind other technology companies,” he added. Colin Chuang, who owns a 28 percent stake in PDD, founded the company in 2015 and quickly turned it into an e-commerce giant. The number of annual active PDD users reached 788 million last December, which is more than 779 million users of its rival Alibaba. The company’s market value peaked at $ 178 billion before falling to about $ 125 billion. Last month, it reported its first quarterly net profit as a public company. Colin Chuang, whose assets are currently worth about $ 35 billion, resigned as CEO last year and resigned as chairman in March. PDD is one of the technology giants who promise current and future profits for companies to invest in philanthropy projects in response to President Xi Jinping’s campaign to close the wealth gap in China. Last month, the PDD announced that it would allocate $ 1.5 billion in revenue to help develop the country’s agriculture. Last year, Chuang and the PDD founding team donated $ 2.4 billion to the charity. According to the Bloomberg index, among the 10 billionaires with the largest decline in net assets this year, six are from China. These include Chung Shanshan, chairman of Nongfu Spring’s $ 18 billion bottled water company, the aforementioned Hui Kcha Jen of Evergrand, and Pony Ma of Tencent, whose assets fell by more than $ 10 billion. Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba, lost $ 6.9 billion this year. (1 EUR = 1,1780 USD) (TASR)
