The Forbes list of the top 400 Chinese ranked by wealth showed three auto glass industry members in the register. Cho Tak Wong of the Fuyao Glass Industry Group or FYG and Yu Awu of the same made it to the selection of names occupying the top 100 slots in the list, while Lee Yin Yee, known as the founder of Xinyi Glass, joined them in the list.
All three Chinese businessmen have been instrumental in the development of the auto glass production industry in China. Lee Yin Yee’s Xinyi Glass, for instance, is one of the biggest exporters in China and was also lauded by the Forbes report as one of the best and biggest value creators in automotive parts producers and suppliers. In fact, in that particular section of the list (the one dedicated to the automotive parts sector), it stands alone as the only auto glass manufacturing company.
Xinyi Glass is well known even to most North American auto glass repair businesses. This is because the company held a staggering 12% share in 1997 alone for the global market for windshield replacement parts as well as for replacement parts for auto side windows. Xinyi is a major manufacturer of replacement automotive pieces, and the rise in auto glass repair and replacement worldwide—which some attribute to the effect of the recession making people take better care of their old possessions and cars instead of buying new ones to replace them—has seen its revenues increasing by a large margin. In fact, by December of last year, the company was already listed as the tenth top value creator in the world by the Boston Consulting Group. The auto glass company also boasted a whopping $2.9B market value at that time.
Xinyi used to differ from Fuyao Glass in that it was the more export-focused company for some time. When Fuyao Glass started to expand to other markets, however, it soon caught up with Xinyi. Cho Tak Wong—who is #99 on the Forbes list—has been leading Fuyao in its drive towards bigger markets, and is partly responsible for the expansion that made the company one of the biggest auto glass manufacturers in the world. At present, Fuyao is acting as a supplier of automotive glass to major auto companies like GM, Nissan, and Ford.
Windshield Replacement Phoenix
The final member of the auto glass party for the Forbes list, Yu Awu, actually ties with Cho Tak Wong and also comes from Fuyao Glass. However, Yu Awu has more than auto glass holdings funding his vast fortune. The entrepreneur also has a share in a major Chinese jewellery company with his son, and he currently has an estimated net worth of about $1.2B.
