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Cai Yang, 27
Job: Shareholder in
paper manufacturer
Drives: Ferrari F430 Spider
owners
CAI YANg is not an average 27-year-old by any
standard. She got her first car, a Lexus, at just 21; four
years later she picked up the keys to a Mercedes. Now
she can be seen turning heads in her Ferrari F430 Spider.
A canny entrepreneur, her success is down to the fact
that she started to dabble in business at the tender age
of 17, right before China entered its greatest period of
economic growth. ‘Our success is definitely because of
China’s boom,’ she declares.
Yang, together with a small group of school friends,
started what has become a money-spinning enterprise –
exporting papyrus. Her husband, whom she married at 23
and who is 11 years her senior, was also involved in the
small business at the time. When she finished her studies
at the age of 20, she and her husband built the company
up and made their fortune importing, manufacturing and
exporting paper products. The company is now 10 years
old and imports mainly from South Korea and Japan.
‘Between 2000 and 2001 the business really took off,’
Yang reflects. ‘In 2004 we experienced another boost.
I never expected it at all. I was just learning as I went
along and upgrading the business.’
Today, she and her husband are shareholders of the
firm Shanghai Packaging, and the majority of their
business involves the manufacture of the silver paper that
goes inside cigarette boxes. They supply one of China’s
biggest cigarette companies, Ningbo Cigarette Factory,
which makes the popular brand Da Hong Ying (great
Red Eagle). Smoking is a growth industry in China.
Like most young professionals, Yang is out to have
fun spending her money – and it doesn’t get much
better than driving around the streets of Shanghai in the
early hours in a Ferrari F430 Spider. She first got into
Ferraris when Shanghai was added to the Formula One
calendar in 2004 with its brand new circuit. ‘I was a fan
of Ferraris from then, and afterwards got into the road
cars,’ she says. She bought her Spider during Chinese
New Year in February 2007. ‘I went for a Spider because
I love convertible cars. It’s really fast and super-cool.
Everyone looks at you when you drive it.’
Yang is in an enviable position. ‘As I’m the boss I
don’t have to show up early at the office so I get up
late and then go in,’ she reveals. ‘In the evening I have
dinner with friends and family. If we are in the mood, we
go out.’ She can often be found with friends in the VIP
lounge of the ultra-modern Shanghai nightclub, Muse.
Like many aspiring Shanghainese, the fun-loving
businesswoman also has a fondness for designer brands.
‘My favourite label is Dolce & gabbana. I also like Dior,’
she confesses. ‘I love big handbags. I have about 10 or
20 different designs at home – gucci, Chanel, Cavalli
and Dolce & gabbana. Every two or three months I go to
Hong Kong on a shopping trip. I usually spend the most
on accessories and watches.’
So what is left to achieve when you have done so
much by the age of 27? ‘I would say I’m an ambitious
person. I’m thinking about going abroad to Canada and
North Korea as those countries have a lot of resources
and many opportunities,’ she muses. ‘I’ll go there and
think about how we can expand the business.’
Yang, however, remains modest about her early
success. Asked if she is proud of her achievements, she
simply says, ‘I’m satisfied.’
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