Hong Kong tycoon Nina Wang, believed to be the richest woman in Asia, has died, one of her personal secretaries said Wednesday.
Wang, 69, made headlines two years ago when she emerged victorious from a bruising legal battle over her late husband's fortune after she was accused of forging his will.
"Mrs Wang passed away (Tuesday) night," secretary Ringo Wong told AFP, adding that she had died at an undisclosed Hong Kong hospital.
He said the 69-year-old businesswoman had suffered a sudden illness, which had quickly claimed her life.
He denied local press reports from late last year that she had suffered from ovarian cancer, for which it was said at the time she had received chemotherapy.
"We were still making deals and investments not long ago," Wong said, adding that family members were by her side when she died.
Shanghai-born Wang's death was announced in a simple statement from the Chinachem real estate company she headed.
"With deep sorrow and sadness the Chinachem Group announces the passing away of its chairlady Mrs Nina Kung Wang on 3 April 2007," the statement said, referring to her full Chinese name.
"Funeral arrangements will be made shortly," it added.
Wong said her death could have an initial impact on the company's operations but believed it would get back on track as soon as possible.
"We will try our best to continue with the company's operations," he said.
Wang leaves no children and it was unclear Wednesday who would take control of her multi-billion-dollar estate.
In 2005 she won a legal battle launched by her 96-year-old father-in-law Wang Din-shin when a court overturned an earlier judgement that she had forged the will of her late husband, Teddy, shortly before he was kidnapped in 1990.
She also later won a court order for Wang Din-shin to reveal who secretly funded his legal fight, a spat that remains unresolved.
Teddy Wang was kidnapped in 1990 but although the family paid 60 million dollars in ransom, he was never seen again. His body was never found, and he was legally declared dead nine years later.
The court victory handed Nina Wang control of Chinachem, a company that she built into a multi-billion-dollar real estate empire.
Despite a fortune estimated by Forbes Magazine at 4.2 billion US dollars -- making her the world's 154th richest person -- her frugality was widely documented by Hong Kong media, who nicknamed her "Little Sweetie" because her trademark pigtails resembled a Japanese comic character.
She once admitted that her favourite meal was American fast food and was reputed to have kept her monthly expenditure below 3,000 Hong Kong dollars (385 US).
Wang and husband Teddy were together so thrifty they were known to buy cut-price tickets to shows.
Lawmaker and barrister Martin Lee paid tribute to a woman he considered a friend and also whom he represented in her marathon court tussle.
"She was a legendary woman," Lee told reporters. "Of course, she was very prudent when it came to spending money. She and her husband had the same character.
"She and Wang Teh-huei were a very loving couple," he added. "They didn't only travel together, they worked together and spent every day together."
Teddy built up Chinachem, mostly on real estate deals, and she helped transform it after his disappearance into a 3.5 billion US dollar empire that owns more than 200 office towers and 400 companies around the world.
