The number of billionaires on the Chinese mainland rose to 129 this year, up from 79 last year, according to the 2010 Forbes China Rich List.

This increase was largely due to a larger number of successful initial public offerings of Chinese companies, said Forbes.

Beverage giant Wahaha Group's chairman Zong Qinghou occupies the top position with US$8 billion of assets, ousting last year's richest man Wang Chuanfu, the founder of electric car manufacturer BYD Company.

This corresponds with the ranking order in the Hurun Rich List released at the end of September.

Forbes said property developers tumbled down the ranking after central government introduced policies to rein-in property market speculation.

Lu Zhiqiang of Oceanwide Construction fell from No 16 last year to No 31 as his assets shrank by US$500 million to US$2.15 billion.

On the other hand, among the 101 newcomers, most are from retail, the service sector and the pharmaceutical industry.

Some 10 percent of the 400 richest on China's mainland in the overall ranking get all or part of their fortunes from healthcare or related sectors.

A total of 65 companies tracked by the list have completed an initial public offering since last December. Among them is Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical Co which went public on the growth enterprise market in May. Its owner, Li Li, shot to fifth position in the chart with assets of US$5.38 billion. He is also the richest newcomer this year.

Other pharmaceutical tycoons on the list include Lepu Medical's Pu Zhongjie and Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products's Wu Guanjiang.

"It's noteworthy that China is undergoing economic restructuring and with strong domestic consumption," said Zhou Jiangong, editor-in-chief of Forbes China. "In the future, the country will definitely see more tycoons coming from the food and beverage sector, chain restaurants and luxury hotels."

Shanghai is home to 37 tycoons on the list, behind Beijing which has 42 and Shenzhen, home to 41.

The list was complied from interviews with business owners, investors and analysts, and fortunes were based on stock prices on October 12.