Longfor Properties President Wu Yajun
By Hu Yuanyuan (China Daily) – Longfor Properties president Wu Yajun is not only the richest woman in China but also the person in the country’s real estate industry of whom least is known.
After Longfor made its debut on the Hong Kong bourse on November 19, Wu’s wealth ballooned to 27.4 billion yuan ($4.01 billion), overtaking Yang Huiyan, president of Country Garden, to become the richest woman in the country.
Wu is not only well known for her wealth but also for her low-key business approach. She has adopted the “Three Nos” principle from the very start – no appearances on television, no interviews and no autographs. Were you to search for her photograph on google or baidu, you would only find five different results.
In 2003, Wu was listed as one of the 50 most influential people in China’s real estate industry by the Hurun Report, a monthly magazine best known for its “China Rich List”, a ranking of the wealthiest individuals in China. However, due to a lack of public information about her, Wu’s full name was incorrectly spelt so most people think she is a man.
When asked why she kept such a low profile, Wu just smiled and said: “Well, I have nothing to talk about. I am just a person focusing on my own business.”
In 1964, Wu was born to an ordinary family in Chongqing, a municipality in southwest China. She graduated from Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1984 and worked for China City Sightseeing Newspaper from 1988 to 1993 as a reporter and editor. The organization behind the newspaper was the construction bureau of Chongqing municipal government, enabling her to build up contacts within the government and business worlds. In 1995, she set up Chongqing Zhongjianke Real Estate Co Ltd with registered capital of 10 million yuan. The company was later renamed as Chongqing Longfor Properties Co Ltd.
Longfor Nanyuan, which was created in1995, was Wu’s first project. Although she had no development experience at the time, it was regarded as a great success in Chongqing because of its fine construction, scenery, fittings and property management.
What also impressed people was the slogan of the project: “Be kind to yourself throughout your life”. This later became Longfor’s management motto. In each city, Longfor’s developments include ordinary homes, high-end apartments and villas. Wu tries to meet customers’ demands at different stages of their lives.
Though Longfor’s projects were well received by customers and the company had a good cash flow, Wu didn’t expand her business in a hurry because she felt she could not evaluate the potential risks. Instead, she worked on a variety of projects to gain experience. In 2000, Longfor began to expand and saw its sales exceeding 2 billion yuan in 2008, making it one of the major players in the industry.
It took Wu only15 years to transform Longfor from a small company into a big name in the industry, so what is behind her success? … read more at ChinaDaily.com…
