China Resources Land Appoints Wang Xiangming as Chairman

China’s ninth largest developer by sales introduced a new chairman this week, as Hong Kong-listed China Resources Land welcomed its second helmsman of 2019.

Wang Xiangming took over as chairman of the real estate development unit of state-owned China Resources Holdings on 17 December, according to an announcement by the company to the Hong Kong exchange on Tuesday. The same bulletin indicated that Wang is now a non-executive director of the company, as well as chairman of the board’s nomination committee.

Other changes to the company’s board involved Li Xin being appointed as chairman of the executive committee and of China Resources Land’s corporate social responsibility committee, and Xie Ji also being named to the CSR committee.

Formerly an executive with mainland construction giant China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), Wang took over the chairman role from long-time China Resources officer Tang Yong, who was appointed as chairman of another Hong Kong-listed unit of the same group, China Resources Power, with that move also taking effect on Tuesday, according to the company. Tang also stepped down from his role as China Resources Land’s CEO, a role which has yet to be refilled during the current reshuffle.

CSCEC Veteran Takes Over at State-Run Developer

Wang Xiangming, now 56, is taking over at China Resources Land after joining China Resources Holdings earlier this year as a director and general manager with the group.

Designated a National Model Worker by the Communist Party of China, Wang was appointed as a CSCEC vice president in 2007, and in November 2015 was admitted to the state-run giant’s party committee. An engineering graduate of the Nanjing Institute of Architectural Engineering (now known as Nanjing Tech University), Wang has also been selected to receive the special government allowances of China’s State Council, a monetary award given by the party to experts, scholars and technicians who have made outstanding contributions to the state.

During his time at CSCEC Wang became a top level representative of the group, representing the state-run firm in meetings with subsidiaries such as China Overseas Land & Investment and China Construction America.

Tang Yong Moves on to New Role

Wang’s ascension ends the brief reign of Tang Yong at China Resources Land, with the group veteran having been appointed CEO one year ago. According to local press accounts Tang’s move up in early December 2018 came after the developer’s former CEO and executive director Wu Xiangdong had reportedly been pushed out by the parent group, as the company officer held an extended, public courtship with Beijing-based rival China Fortune Land Development.

Wu was appointed as a Vice Chairman of CFLD just over one week after Tang moved up to CEO at China Resources Land, and the executive has since been appointed CEO and President of the Beijing-based firm. Wu was also appointed to the board of Sun Hung Kai Properties in September of this year, before also being nominated this month to the board of Shenzhen-listed builder Sunshine City.

Now 47, Tang was named chairman of China Resources Land in February of this year, after being with China Resources Group since 1993 and joining the development division 11 years ago. As part of his move to the Group’s power generation unit, Tang resigned from his seat on the China Resources Land board, while confirming that he had no disagreements with the company.

China Resources Land Financials Creep Upward in 2019

During the first six months of 2019 China Resources Land’s contracted sales rose 26 percent, compared to the same period last year, with the group’s mall rental income from its portfolio of MixC retail projects up by 39 percent.

Total revenue for the developer was up 4.7 percent to reach RMB 45.8 billion ($6.55 billion) during the first half, compared to the same period last year, as core net profit rose 11.3 percent to RMB 8.1 billion over the same interval.