Chinese trading app founder is $8b richer amid stimulus blitz

BEIJING - The tycoon behind China's Royal Flush trading app has added US$6 billion (S$8 billion) to his wealth since the nation's stimulus blitz in September, underscoring how the volatility has been a boon for an elite few.

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Mr Yi Zheng, an engineering graduate who founded the entity behind Hithink Royal Flush Information Network in 1994, four years after China's stock exchanges opened, is overseeing his company's best share performance in half a decade after trading of mainland stocks surged.

While Mr Yi's fortune is up 190 per cent since the announcements, it is not yet clear if the sweeping measures will meaningfully lift the nation's US$10 trillion stock market after a turbulent couple of months.

The 54-year-old is now worth US$9.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

That is largely based on his 36 per cent stake in the company, which also sells financial data.

Its shares have more than doubled in 2024 and are on track for the best year since 2019.

Volatility on China's benchmark CSI 300 Index had spiked in the past two months, with a 30-day gauge jumping to the highest level since 2015, when Asia's largest economy experienced an epic boom and bust in stocks.

Home to the world's second-largest stock market, China has allowed trading and software entrepreneurs to accumulate vast fortunes.

East Money Information, Hithink's biggest domestic competitor, grew more valuable than Credit Suisse in 2020 after frenzied trading in China, making founder Qi Shi a billionaire several times over.