Asia's richest woman dies at 69

Nina Wang (龔如心), who became Asia's richest woman after her husband was kidnapped, died yesterday at age 69, her assistant said.

Wang, whose wealth Forbes magazine estimated at US$4.2 billion this year, died of an illness, personal assistant Ringo Wong said by telephone yesterday, without giving details.

Her company, Chinachem Group (華懋集團), announced her death in a statement yesterday.

"With deep sorrow and sadness, the Chinachem Group announces the passing away of its Chairlady Mrs Nina Kung Wang," Chinachem said in the faxed statement. "Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly."

Known as "little sweetie" by the Hong Kong media for her trademark pigtail hairstyle and penchant for traditional Chinese dresses, Nina Wang won control of deceased husband Teddy Wang's (王德輝) fortune in 2005. That came after Hong Kong's highest court ruled she didn't conspire with her butler to forge the will.

Teddy Wang was kidnapped in 1983 and again in 1990. He wasn't returned after the second abduction and his body was never recovered. Nina Wang ran real estate developer Chinachem for nine years under a power of attorney, insisting her husband was alive.

Nina Wang was born in 1937. Their tale began innocently enough as childhood sweethearts in Shanghai, where their well-to-do families were bound by business ties. She followed Teddy to Hong Kong in 1955 and married him when she was 18.

During the acrimonious court battle over his estate, Nina's lawyer described their years together as almost a fairytale and said they remained madly in love into middle age.

Teddy's father, Wang Din-shin (王廷歆), told a different story. He accused Nina of having an affair and had Teddy declared legally dead in 1999 as he started his effort to gain control of his son's estate. He later said his son was so incensed that he cut Nina out of his 1968 will, leaving his inheritance to his father.

Years after Teddy vanished, Nina Wang produced a new will, which named her as the sole beneficiary. Lawyers for Nina said he wrote it in 1990 a month before he disappeared.

What happens to Nina's fortune, with the company her husband left behind making up the bulk of it, was not immediately clear. She left no children behind but has at least one brother and reportedly some other siblings.

Hong Kong media was rife with speculation yesterday about the existence, or not, of a will, and whether her siblings -- who keep an ultra-low profile -- would emerge to claim a share of Wang's wealth.

Be it her hairstyle, gaudy dress sense or immense fortune, Nina was one of Hong Kong's best-recognized women.

She openly admitted to being stingy, saying she only spent a modest HK$3,000 (US$380) each month on shopping and necessities, sometimes flashing her bargain buys to the media.

Later, she displayed a surprise streak of ambition when she announced plans to build the world's tallest skyscraper, the US$1.3 billion, 108-story Nina Tower. The government shelved the plan in 1997, citing height restrictions.

While she baulked at expensive skin-care treatments and health-giving tonics -- the staples of most wealthy Chinese women -- she was not penny-pinching when it came to protecting her billion-dollar fortune from her father-in-law.

Chinachem group boasts more than 200 properties in Hong Kong.