50 of the most powerful businesswomen in Asia

SINGAPORE - They wield significant power in the upper tiers of Asia's business world and are exceedingly wealthy.

Meet 50 of Asia's most powerful businesswomen as chosen by Forbes Asia.

Returning to the list are Ho Ching, Executive Director and CEO of Singapore's Temasek, Gina Rinehart, Executive Chairman of Australia's Hancock Prospecting and Sun Yafang, Chairman of China's Huawei Technologies.

This year's list features 27 newcomers such as Noni Purnomo, President Director of Indonesia's Blue Bird Group Holding, Sonia Cheng, CEO of Hong Kong's Rosewood Hotel Group and Helen Yuchengco Dee, Chairman of Philippines' Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation.

Being China's largest online commerce company also has its perks as two top female executives of Alibaba made the top 50. Returning to this year's list is Alibaba's co-founder, Lucy Peng who also drives the company's financial services affiliate, Ant Financial.

Making the list for the first time is Alibaba's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who was responsible for the firm's extremely profitable IPO.

This is also the first time Forbes has listed women from Myanmar and Mongolia.

Win Win Tint, founder of City Mart Holdings and Pahtama Group in Myanmar built a retail conglomerate of supermarkets, convenience stores, drugstoresand more, from a humble family grocery store while Garamjav Tseden is the chairman and founder of Mongolia's Monpolymet Group which deals with gold mining, construction and mineral exploration.

Forbes has also highlighted 12 individuals in their late twenties to early forties as "Women to Watch". These include Ruth Yeoh of YTL Singapore and YTL-SV Carbon and Isha Ambani of Reliance Jio Infocomm and Reliance Retail Ventures.

debwong@sph.com.sg