Cheung Yan (張茵)

 Company: Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited (玖龍紙業(控股)有限公司)

Headquarters: Guangdong

Main focus: Cardboard paper

Title: Chairwoman

Age: 55

2011 Rank: 12

In 1985, Cheung Yan opened a paper trading company in Hong Kong and then moved to America, where she founded the wastepaper recycling company America Chung Nam in 1990. In 2005, Cheung returned to China and settled in Dongguan of Guangdong Province, where she established Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Ltd., which went public in March 2006.

Cheung's company, America Chung Nam, has been the number one American paper exporter since 2001, and Nine Dragons Paper Holdings has become the biggest cardboard paper maker in Asia. In 2010, Cheung's personal fortune was estimated at about US$5.6 billion, and according to the Hurun Rich List 2011, she possesses a net worth of US$4.4 billion as of September this year. However, according to the financial statements of the Nine Dragons released in September this year, the company's net asset-liability ratio reached 110 percent which shows the company is currently facing huge financial pressures.