Tech sector creates most new Chinese billionaires in 2018: report

BEIJING - Technology entrepreneurs in China are capitalizing on the country's digital economy boom, generating enormous wealth in 2018, a report showed.

Of the 56 new Chinese billionaires in 2018, 21 percent came from the technology sector, while only 7 percent came from the real estate sector, an industry that traditionally creates the most wealth for Chinese entrepreneurs, according to a report jointly released Friday by UBS and PwC.

"With the growing impact of the digital economy on traditional enterprises, technology entrepreneurs are replacing the traditional giants like manufacturing and real estate in China," said Harry Qin, wealth and asset management consulting lead partner of PwC China.

"Wealth is moving to those who can adapt to the digital economy. Moving forward, there will be more Chinese billionaires coming from the digital economy," he said.

The report defines billionaires as those with a net worth of more than $1 billion.

China's entrepreneurs have become the world's second-largest billionaire group over the past five years. In 2018, the country had 325 billionaires, with a combined net worth reaching $982.4 billion, according to the report.

"The remarkable pace of wealth creation in China is an immense opportunity for UBS," said Marina Lui, head of wealth management in China for UBS, adding that the company is looking to tap into the opportunities brought by China's ongoing financial opening-up.