Mukesh Ambani pips Jack Ma to become Asia’s richest

Beijing, July 21: India and China should also have an element of cooperation between them even as they compete in fields like economy and technology, Chinese experts told the country's Global Times news website after Reliance Industries Ltd's Mukesh Ambani overtook Chinese billionaire Jack Ma recently to become the richest man in Asia.

Ambani's wealth is estimated to be worth of $44.3 billion while that of Ma is worth $44 billion, reported Bloomberg.

In a business report titled 'China, India race for future technologies as Ambani beats Ma as Asia's richest man' published on Wednesday, July 18, the Global Times said the news drew a wide attention in China where it was perceived to be a loss and anticipation that India could pip China in internet and technological developments gained prominence.

"Ma Yun's title as the richest person in Asia has been taken away by an Indian" -- the headline of an article which got a wide circulation on China's social media, said, according to the Times.

Internet is being seen as the new force that makes billionaires besides the more traditional fields of real estate and manufacturing and according to Xiang Yang, a Beijing-based industry expert, India's huge population and a relatively low internet penetration rate means it has a massive room for growth in the internet and technology sectors, like big data and artificial intelligence, the Global Times report added.

"Such rankings change very quickly, but no doubt India could become an internet and technology powerhouse," Xiang was quoted as saying by Global Times.

Qian Feng, a research fellow at Beijing's Chinese Association for South Asian Studies told the Times that it was natural for India and China to compete in various fields like economics and technology but they should also cooperate since both attach significance to technological development and have a "strong complementarity".