Asia's richest woman Nina Wang died of illness, possibly cancer, on Tuesday at the age of 69, the Chinachem Group which she chaired announced yesterday.

Her death came not long after she won an eight-year legal battle over her husband's will against her father-in-law Wang Din-shin.

"Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly," the group statement said, without giving details on the illness and who would chair the group.

It was reported last December that Wang, nicknamed "Little Sweetie" for her pigtail hairstyle and bright color clothing, was admitted to hospital for breast and ovarian cancer, which had spread to other organs.

Forbes Billionaires List named her Asia's richest woman with US$4.2 billion.

At 18, she married late Teddy Wang Teh-huei, who established the Chinachem Group in 1974.

Teddy Wang was kidnapped first in 1983, and released after Nina Wang paid an US$11-million ransom. He was kidnapped again in 1990 and declared dead in 1999. Nina took the helm of Chinachem after the second kidnap.

In 2001, Nina faced a legal challenge brought by Wang Sr over the late Teddy's fortune.

The High Court spent 172 days to hear the case, the longest in Hong Kong's civic case history.

Nina Wang lost in the High Court in 2002 and 2004, which awarded all of late Teddy's estate to Wang Sr.

But Hong Kong's highest legal authority, the Court of Final Appeal (CFA), overturned the previous ruling, giving her the control of Chinachem.

It was estimated that the battle had cost more than HK$200 million.

Nina Wang did not have any children. She said in 2001 that she had prepared a will, giving most of the money to charity.

Nina Wang developed Chinachem from a pharmaceutical company to a large property developer.

The group gained fortune when the New Territories was developed as it held a lot of agriculture land in the area.

(China Daily April 5, 2007)