A former factory girl is set to become China's richest woman - worth nearly £4.9 billion.
Zhou Qunfei, 45, will top the rich list after her company LENS Technology went public on the Growth Enterprise Market, reports The People's Daily.
Shares for the company, which supplies protective window glass used in Apple devices, have rocketed since the Initial Public Offering (IPO) on March 5.
Her husband, Zheng Junlong, has 1.4 per cent of company shares, taking their combined ownership to more than 99 per cent.
Originally a 'factory girl' in Shenzhen, her growth in the industry has earned her the nickname 'Queen of mobile phone glass,' commanding an annual salary of more than £1.5 million.
According to company sources, Zhou worked at Bai En for many years and left before founding Lens Technology - which is now the company's biggest competitor - in 2003.
Born in a village in the Hunan province, she relocated to Guangdong where she learned how to make glass for watches before later moving onto the multimedia, consumer electronics and the mobile device screen market she would later dominate.
Shortly after establishing the company - which specialises in the production of protective window glass, used in mobile phones, tablet PCs, notebook PCs, and consumer electronic products - she moved the factory to her home town of Hunan.
Brokers estimate that Lens Technology's market value could reach 53 billion yuan with Zhou's personal worth climbing to 46.6 billion yuan, or £4.87 billion.
It shipped 476 billion pieces of protective glass in 2013, including 451 million for mobile phones and 25.5 million for table PCs, with a market share of 23.37 per cent
Zhou Qunfei, 45, will top the rich list after her company LENS Technology went public on the Growth Enterprise Market, reports The People's Daily.
Shares for the company, which supplies protective window glass used in Apple devices, have rocketed since the Initial Public Offering (IPO) on March 5.
Her husband, Zheng Junlong, has 1.4 per cent of company shares, taking their combined ownership to more than 99 per cent.
Originally a 'factory girl' in Shenzhen, her growth in the industry has earned her the nickname 'Queen of mobile phone glass,' commanding an annual salary of more than £1.5 million.
According to company sources, Zhou worked at Bai En for many years and left before founding Lens Technology - which is now the company's biggest competitor - in 2003.
Born in a village in the Hunan province, she relocated to Guangdong where she learned how to make glass for watches before later moving onto the multimedia, consumer electronics and the mobile device screen market she would later dominate.
Shortly after establishing the company - which specialises in the production of protective window glass, used in mobile phones, tablet PCs, notebook PCs, and consumer electronic products - she moved the factory to her home town of Hunan.
Brokers estimate that Lens Technology's market value could reach 53 billion yuan with Zhou's personal worth climbing to 46.6 billion yuan, or £4.87 billion.
It shipped 476 billion pieces of protective glass in 2013, including 451 million for mobile phones and 25.5 million for table PCs, with a market share of 23.37 per cent

