Early Life
Fan Hongwei was born in February 1967 in Jiangsu Province, China. She received her education at Nanjing Normal University. After graduating, she started her career as an accountant. This experience provided her with a strong foundation in financial management.
Rise to Success
In 1994, Fan Hongwei and her husband, Chen Jianhua, acquired a struggling textile factory in Wujiang, Suzhou, with a 3 million RMB loan. Fan took over the factory as general manager, and they successfully restructured and expanded the company. Under her leadership, the factory grew from a small operation with 27 employees into China's largest fiber producer and one of the world's largest weaving companies. The company evolved into Hengli Group, with Hengli Petrochemical as its main unit.
Hengli Petrochemical became publicly traded through a backdoor listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2016. In 2019, Hengli Group generated over 500 billion RMB in revenue. Fan owns a 45% stake in Hengli Petrochemical.
Key Business Strategies
Fan's leadership focused on restructuring, strategic expansion, and innovation. The company's expansion into petrochemicals and focus on producing high-quality products, including polyester chips and filaments used across multiple industries, were pivotal strategies.
Philanthropy
Fan Hongwei is known to be involved in philanthropic activities, though specific details of her initiatives are limited. The Hengli Group has made donations to support various causes.