Mr Jim Xu Liankuan, 44

Mr Jim Xu Liankuan, 44
Worth: 1 billion yuan

He heads the Hong Kong-listed engineering firm Zonda Group, which manufactures buses, auto equipment and other steel products. The Jiangsu native graduated from the NUS Business School in 1998.

Ms Yang Yuyan, 47
Worth: 2.1 billion yuan

The real estate company Ms Yang and husband Zhang Yong set up in 1997 became the first Chinese property firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2007. Ms Yang graduated from the NUS Asia-Pacific Executive MBA programme in 2008.