Beijing is now home to more billionaires than any other city in the world, according to the latest Forbes’ annual rich list.

The Chinese capital added 33 billionaires last year and now hosts 100, said the business magazine.

This narrowly beats New York City, which hosts 99 and has held the top ranking for the last seven years.

China’s quick containment of Covid-19, the rise of its technology firms and stock markets helped it gain top spot.

Although Beijing now has more billionaires than the Big Apple, the combined net worth of New York City’s billionaires remained US$80bn (£58bn) greater than that of their counterparts in Beijing.

Beijing’s richest resident was Zhang Yiming, the founder of video-sharing app TikTok and chief executive of its parent firm ByteDance. He saw his net worth double to $35.6bn.

In contrast, New York City’s richest resident, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, had a fortune worth $59bn.

China, along with the US, has seen its technology giants become even bigger during the pandemic as more people shopped online and looked for sources of entertainment.

This saw the massive creation of personal wealth for the founders and shareholders of these tech titans.

China, whose figure included Hong Kong and Macao in the Forbes count, added more billionaires to the list than any other country globally, with 210 newcomers.

Half of China’s new billionaires made their fortunes from manufacturing or technology ventures, including female billionaire Kate Wang, who made her money from e-cigarettes.

With 698 billionaires, China is closing in on the US, which still leads with 724 billionaires.

A record 493 newcomers joined the list globally last year, roughly one new billionaire every 17 hours, according to Forbes.

India had the third-highest number of billionaires, with 140. In total, the 1,149 billionaires from Asia Pacific were worth $4.7tn, compared with the US billionaires’ $4.4 tn.

Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon, remains the world’s richest person for the fourth consecutive year. His net worth grew by $64bn to $177bn last year.

LG Electronics said on Monday it would close down its loss-making smartphone business.

In January, the South Korean electronics giant said it was looking at all options for the division after almost six years of losses totalling around $4.5bn (£3.3bn).

LG had made many innovations including ultra-wide angle cameras, rising to third largest smartphone maker in 2013.

But bosses said the mobile phone market had become “incredibly competitive”.

While Samsung and Apple are the two biggest players in the smartphone market, LG has suffered from its own hardware and software issues.

As LG struggled with losses it had held talks to sell part of the business but these fell through.

It still ranks as the third most popular brand in North America but has slipped in other markets. LG phones are still fairly common in its domestic South Korean market.

“LG’s strategic decision to exit the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector will enable the company to focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics and artificial intelligence,” it said in a statement.

Last year it shipped 28 million phones, which compares with 256 million for Samsung, according to research firm Counterpoint.

The smartphone business is the smallest of LG’s five divisions, accounting for just 7.4% of revenue. Currently its global mobile phone market share is about 2%.

It has been innovating its phones to compete with its bigger rivals, with last year’s launch of the T-shaped Wing, a smartphone with a larger screen which swivels out to reveal a second, smaller one underneath.

What about other products like Electric cars and TVs

LG still has a strong consumer electronics business, particularly with home appliances and televisions. LG is the world’s second best-selling TV brand after Samsung.

In December it launched a joint venture with automotive supplier Magna International that will make key components for electric cars.

LG’s phone inventory will continue to be available for sale, and it will still provide service support and software updates for existing customers. The divisions is expected to be wound down by the end of July.

“Moving forward, LG will continue to leverage its mobile expertise and develop mobility-related technologies such as 6G to help further strengthen competitiveness in other business areas,” a spokesman added.

Analysts said South Korean rival Samsung and Chinese companies such as Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi are likely to benefit the most from LG’s exit.

Smartphone makers struggled during the pandemic with sales down about 10% in 2020 mainly due to lockdowns limiting store openings.

China’s biggest carmaker Geely is launching a premium electric car brand it hopes will take on Tesla.

The Chinese company, which owns Volvo and Lotus, announced its Zeekr brand on Tuesday to tap into China’s demand for electric vehicles (EVs).

It comes as Elon Musk goes on the charm offensive in China praising its plans to tackle carbon emissions.

The Tesla founder has seeking to allay Chinese concerns about his cars’ onboard cameras.

Geely said it would develop and manufacture high-end EVs under the Zeekr brand and expected to begin deliveries in the third quarter of 2021.

It already has exposure to premium electric cars through the brands it owns. Polestar, owned by Volvo Cars, develops electric performance cars. It is headquartered in Sweden with vehicle production taking place in China.

Lotus, which is majority-owned by Geely, is working on an electric-powered supercar called Evija.

Geely also owns London black cab maker, the London EV Company, and has focused on building plug-in hybrid taxis, which have both a petrol engine and electric battery.

Zeekr, its own home-grown EV brand, will face fierce competition from Tesla whose Model 3 was the top-selling electric vehicle model in China last year. It will also compete with Chinese groups Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto which are seeing healthy sales.

Last week, Dongfeng Motor, the Chinese partner of Japan’s Nissan and PSA Peugeot Citroen of France, said its new EV brand Voyah could start delivering cars to Chinese customers in July.

Beijing wants more than a fifth of vehicles sold in China to be electric by 2025.

Geely has ambitions to become China’s first global automaker with a reach similar to Volkswagen. Along with its Volvo and Lotus brands, it owns a minority stake in Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler.

The initial strategy for Zeekr will be focused on the Chinese market but it will also explore overseas opportunities given rising global demand for premium electric vehicles.

The premium brand will operate under a new entity named Lingling Technologies, which will be based in Hefei, eastern China.

“Chairman Li Shufu senses a need to inject his 24 year-old company, Geely, with a startup vibe like what he sees at NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto,” said Michael Dunne, chief executive of ZoZo Go, a consultancy firm focusing on the Asian car market.

“To get there, he envisions an electric baby – Lingling Technologies – that operates independently from Geely”.

On Tuesday Geely reported its annual results which saw it sell 1.32 million cars in 2020, compared with 1.36 million in the previous year.