HONG KONG • A share surge at Country Garden Holdings, China's largest developer by sales, has sent vice-chairman Yang Huiyan's wealth up by US$2.1 billion (S$2.8 billion) - in just the first four trading days of the year.

Ms Yang, the controlling shareholder of Country Garden, saw her fortune soar to US$25.6 billion as of last Friday, making her the fifth-richest person in the nation, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That was before Country Garden's shares rose another 7.4 per cent yesterday in Hong Kong trading, taking its year-to-date gain to 17 per cent.

Ms Yang, 36, is China's richest woman and its youngest billionaire, according to the Bloomberg index.

In 2005, her father Yang Guoqiang transferred his controlling stake to her "due to his intention to train Yang Huiyan as the successor of his family's interest" in the group, Country Garden said in its 2007 initial public offering prospectus. Mr Yang co-founded the firm in 1992.

Country Garden has been one of the beneficiaries of a boom in China's property market, which has led to buoyant earnings and soaring sales, especially for the nation's largest developers.

The company reported preliminary 2017 contracted sales of 550.8 billion yuan (S$113 billion) last Friday, exceeding the 500 billion yuan target it provided in August.

Other Chinese developers such as China Evergrande Group have also rallied in Hong Kong trading, boosting the fortunes of their executives. Evergrande's Mr Hui Ka Yan, whose wealth is estimated at US$38.2 billion by the Bloomberg index, is China's third-richest individual after Alibaba's Mr Jack Ma and Tencent's Mr Pony Ma.

BLOOMBERG