Tool Maker’s IPO Mints China’s Latest Billionaire

Today’s listing at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange by Greenworks (Jiangsu), a supplier of home, yard and do-it-yourself tools, has minted a new billionaire.

Chairman Chen Yin holds a stake of more than 55% in the company worth 9.9 billion yuan, or $1.5 billion, in early afternoon trading. Shares rose 17% from their IPO price to 36.22 yuan.

Chen, born in in 1973, founded Greenworks in 2002. The company has more than 7,000 employees and manufacturing facilities in China, the U.S. and Vietnam.

Chen holds an undergraduate degree in engineering from China’s Donghua University and a MBA from Warwick University.

China is home to the world’s second-largest number of billionaires after the United States.

— with Julie Lu