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Shoe business owner named Taiwan's richest person
Courtesy of ICRT
Zhang Congyuan, founder of contract shoe maker Huali Industrial, has taken the title as the richest person in Taiwan, with a net worth of US$13.8 billion, according to Taiwan's Richest 2021 list released by Forbes magazine.
It's the first time for the low-key, self-made tycoon, to top the Forbes' top 50 billionaires list in Taiwan.
Huali Industrial owns production facilities in China, Vietnam and Dominica, and its international customers include Nike, Puma, UGG and Vans, the magazine said.
Zhang, who started his shoe business in Yunlin County, took Huali Industrial public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in April and saw his wealth significantly boosted by a skyrocketing share price.
Reports said Huali Industrial owns 43 subsidiaries which run 21 plants worldwide.
In 2019, the parent company rolled out more than 180 million pairs of shoes, generated 15 billion Chinese yuan (US$2.32 billion) in sales and raked in 1.82 billion yuan in net profit.
The scale of Zhang's base located in Yunlin has shrunk as his company relocated resources overseas and the workforce in Taiwan has been reduced to about 20 at present, from more than 300 three decades ago.
