In a year that has seen the biggest liquidity event in Asian history – the ascent of Jack Ma via the IPO of his Alibaba e-commerce business, another tycoon has soared up the rankings. Wang Jianlin is now Asia’s richest person, as he gets ready to sell shares in his mall developer via a share flotation.

In a year that has seen the biggest liquidity event in Asian history – the ascent of Jack Ma via the IPO of his Alibaba e-commerce business, another tycoon has soared up the rankings. Wang Jianlin is now Asia’s richest person, as he gets ready to sell shares in his mall developer via a share flotation.

The property entrepreneur’s fortune has surged by 63 per cent to $24.8 billion, surpassing that of India’s Mukesh Ambani, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Wang’s Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties plans to sell shares near the top end of a marketed range to raise about $3.7 billion in the offering, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

Most of Wang’s net worth is derived from the Chinese developer. He comes behind China’s Jack Ma and Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing among Asia’s wealthiest people. Ambini, the richest man in India, has a net worth of $20.4 billion.

Figures about the wealth of such persons help explain why, despite some concerns about decelerating Chinese growth, the region continues to be seen as one of the most promising wealth management areas.