<div id="readability-page-1"><div>BEIJING – When Zhang Bo took over his father’s industrial empire in 2019, it was already one of the world’s biggest producers of aluminum, the most widely used industrial metal.Since then, the stock of his China Hongqiao Group has soared 585 per cent, quietly turning Mr Zhang into Asia’s richest metals tycoon with a fortune of about US$48 billion (S$61 billion). Mr Zhang, the world’s largest private producer of the metal, has a grip on low-cost output at a critical moment for global demand. He’s a supplier to China’s biggest tech firms like Huawei Technologies, Xiaomi and BYD. Aluminum has spiked more than 25 per cent in the past year, fuelled by demand from new energy vehicles to solar panels and wind turbines, while geopolitical shocks like the war in Iran have added to volatility. The metal rose to the highest in almost four years on March 9.The widening Middle East conflict has disrupted local smelters, which account for 9 per cent of global primary aluminum supply. An effective halt on shipments via the Strait of Hormuz, off Iran’s coast, has also choked shipments of the metal. That positions Chinese aluminum producers like Mr Zhang’s to plug emerging supply gaps if global output slows.“Their influence and personal wealth expanded because the industrial platform they built reached a scale where the market could no longer ignore it,” Harry Yu, senior partner at family office advisory Fung, Yu &amp; Co said of the Zhang clan. “Families like this tend to stay low-profile because their power sits in production systems and supply chains, not in branding.”Chinese aluminum smelters in the past years have grappled with access to bauxite, the ore used to produce aluminum, as political instability in Guinea and export restrictions in Indonesia disrupted shipments. Jakarta’s drive to keep more processing at home further tightened global supply. Mr Zhang and his father, however, had moved ahead of peers to lock in upstream resources.Hongqiao began developing bauxite mines in Guinea, the largest mining country for the raw material, around 2014. That’s given better access to bauxite than rivals, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michelle Leung said. Securing upstream resources in the early days has contributed to earnings growth, she said.The company is now one of the lowest-cost producers globally through power plants in China, bauxite mines in Guinea and alumina plants in Indonesia.Since he controls a significant share of primary aluminum output - which totalled nearly 73 million tons globally in 2024 - Mr Zhang’s decisions affect global supply and price expectations. Hongqiao’s share placements and refinancing are also closely watched by investors, affecting sentiment for aluminum equities across the region. In the last year alone, his family’s wealth has gained 110 per cent, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, placing the clan among the wealthiest in Asia as of 2025.Since taking over the helm from his father, Mr Zhang has helmed a major pivot by relocating a chunk of aluminum capacity to China’s mountainous Yunnan province to tap cheap green hydropower and align himself with China’s broader energy transition. He later expanded into high-end aluminum products used in electric vehicles as demand from traditional sectors such as property, construction waned. Still the company is highly exposed to aluminum price volatility, while weaker-than-expected economic growth in major economies amid escalated trade and geopolitical tensions poses major downside risk to demand for the metal. BLOOMBERG</div></div>

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Zhang Bo, who took over China Hongqiao Group in 2019, has seen his fortune soar to $61 billion as aluminum prices surged over 25% due to rising demand from new energy sectors and geopolitical tensions. His company, a major aluminum producer, has benefited from low-cost output and strategic investments in bauxite resources. Despite the company's success, it remains vulnerable to price volatility and economic uncertainties. Zhang's wealth has increased by 110% in the past year, positioning him as Asia's richest metals tycoon.

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Aluminum’s surge propels Chinese tycoon to $61 billion fortune