Zhang Yin
Zhang Yin, also known by her Cantonese name Cheung Yan, is the founder and director of Nine Dragons Paper — one of the world’s largest packaging paper producers.
Zhang, 55, founded the firm in 1996 with her husband and by 2005 the company had become the largest paper maker in China. Her business model of buying waste paper from the U.S. and shipping it to China at cheap rates to turn into paperboard has earned her the title of “Queen
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more Zhang Yin
Zhang Yin, also known by her Cantonese name Cheung Yan, is the founder and director of Nine Dragons Paper — one of the world’s largest packaging paper producers.
Zhang, 55, founded the firm in 1996 with her husband and by 2005 the company had become the largest paper maker in China. Her business model of buying waste paper from the U.S. and shipping it to China at cheap rates to turn into paperboard has earned her the title of “Queen of Trash” in the country. Zhang became the first woman to be named the richest person in China by the Hurun Report in 2006 after listing her company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Her net worth was estimated to be $3.4 billion then , but Forbes now estimates her fortune has shrunk to $1 billion as weak Chinese exports cut into demand for packaging over the past year.
Zhang is a member of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and also holds roles in several Chinese organizations. She is the vice chairman of the China Federation of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs and honorary chairman of the US-China Federal Association of Business Councils. In 2007, Zhang was awarded China’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young.
Photo: Philippe Lopez | AFP | Getty Images
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Thu 8 Nov, 2012 12:30 PM IST