The Vietnamese American entrepreneur, Hoang Kieu, has been added to the list of the world's billionaires released by Forbes Magazine on September 17.

Mr. Hoang Kieu

With the total assets worth USD2.8 billion, Hoang Kieu ranked 629th on the list.

According to Forbes, Hoang Kieu's debut on the list is due to a large part from a big jump in the share price of plasma supplier Shanghai RAAS Blood Products, whose shares trade on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Hoang, an American citizen, owns 183.6 million shares, or 37% of the company.

The company stock has climbed amid optimism about the healthcare industry and a shortage of IPOs that have led investors to bid on stocks of growing companies. Revenue for the first three quarters of 2013 rose by 10% to 463 million yuan, or USD77 million, while its net profits climbed by 4%, to 148.4 million yuan.

Born in Trieu Phong District, Quang Tri Province, Hoang Kieu moved to the US at the age of 32 with his wife and children.

He began his professional career in the US in 1975 at Abbott Reference Laboratories. In 1980, he founded Rare Antibody Antigen Supply Inc. (RAAS).

In 1992, after several years of distribution of plasma derived products, Shanghai RAAS was established and began selling its own human albumin, AlbuRAAS, and plasma derived medicines.