Zhou Qunfei
| Zhou Qunfei | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 周群飞 |
| Born |
1970 (age 45–46) Xiangxiang, Hunan, China |
| Citizenship | Hong Kong[1] |
| Occupation | Founder and CEO of Lens Technology |
| Known for | the richest woman in China |
| Net worth | US$6.4 billion (February 2016)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Zheng Junlong |
Zhou Qunfei (Chinese: 周群飞; born 1970) is a Chinese entrepreneur who founded the touchscreen maker Lens Technology. After the public listing of her company on the Shenzhen ChiNext market in March 2015, her net worth temporarily reached US$10 billion, making her the richest woman in China.[2]
Early life and career
Zhou Qunfei was born in 1970 to a poor family in Xiangxiang, Hunan province, China. Before she was born, her father became blind in an accident in the 1960s, and when she was five her mother died.[2] She quit school at age 15 and became a migrant worker in Shenzhen, the special economic zone in Guangdong province.[2]
In Shenzhen she deliberately chose to work for companies near Shenzhen University, so she could take part-time courses at the university. She studied many subjects and passed the examinations to be certified for accounting, computer operations, customs processing, and even became licensed for driving commercial vehicles. Her biggest regret is not having studied English.[3]
She worked for a small firm making watch parts. When that business folded, she established her own company in 1993,[2] with her savings of HK$20,000.[3] It was her cousin who encouraged her to start on her own, and her brother, sister, and two cousins all helped in the business.[3] In 2001, she caught her big break when her company won a profitable contract to make mobile phone screens for the Chinese electronics giant TCL Corporation.[2] Zhou Qunfei said that over the years she had started 11 companies.[4]
Lens Technology
Zhou Qunfei started touch-screen maker Lens Technology in 2003, and developed the company into the dominant player of the industry. Lens Technology supplies touch-screens to leading electronics makers such as Apple, Samsung Electronics, and Huawei. The upcoming Apple Watches will use her company's glass and sapphire crystal screens. As of April 2015, the company employs about 60,000 people.[2]
On 18 March 2015, the 22nd anniversary of the founding of her first start-up,[3] Lens Technology began trading on the ChiNext A-share market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company's stock price rose by the market's daily limit for 13 days in a row, and her net worth more than quintupled during the period to reach US$10 billion. She surpassed Chen Lihua, who was worth US$7.1 billion, to become the richest woman in China.[2]
Personal life
Zhou Qunfei married her former factory boss, had a child and divorced. She later married Zheng Junlong (郑俊龙), a longtime factory colleague who currently serves on the Lens board. They have a daughter.[3][5]
Zhou Qunfei's rags-to-riches story has been hailed as an inspiration to the millions of migrant workers in China. In an interview with Gansu Television, she said the secret of her success was the desire to learn.[2]
References
- 1 2 "Zhou Qunfei". Forbes. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Daniel Ren (7 April 2015). "Zhou Qunfei: from lowly factory worker to China's richest woman". South China Morning Post.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Jin Zhu (2 April 2015). 女首富周群飞首度回应传闻：我不是小三 23岁做老板. Sina (in Chinese).
- ↑ Zheng Wei (17 March 2015). 低调不了的准女首富:蓝思科技掌门周群飞陷豪门恩怨漩涡. Sina (in Chinese).
- ↑ "How a Chinese Billionaire Built Her Fortune". New York Times. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.