Management overhauls at a pair of mainland China real estate companies lead Mingtiandi’s roundup of personnel moves from around Asia this week with both Shanghai’s DaFa Properties and Shenzhen-based property manager E-Star Commercial announcing new chief executives. China Merchants Land also makes the list with some board turnover and Hong Kong’s VMS Group names a chief investment officer.
Shanghai-based developer DaFa Properties Group announced to the Hong Kong exchange on 5 May that its chief executive officer Leng Junfeng (pictured) has resigned from the leadership role and is also giving up his seat as an executive director on the firm’s board from 10 May. Leng, 51, had been promoted to chief executive in February of last year. In the same announcement DaFa said that its joint company secretaries So Shuk Yi and Wong Chin Hung have also both resigned. The departures were announced just one week after DaFa said that it had failed to repay $100 million in principal along with interest on senior notes due on 28 April. On 26 April the developer had revealed that it was delaying release of its 2022 financial results after Ernst & Young had earlier resigned as its auditor.
E-Star Commercial Management Company said in a statement to the Hong Kong exchange on 4 May that it has appointed former China Resources Land executive Chen Qunsheng as its chief executive officer with effect from that same day. Now 45, Chen has also been given an executive director slot on the board of the property management affiliate of mainland developer Galaxy Holdings. E-Star’s previous CEO, Tao Muming (pictured) had resigned on 14 April, leaving on the same day as fellow executive directors Wen Yi and Li Li.
Shenzhen’s China Merchants Land said in a statement to the Hong Kong bourse on 5 May that Yu Zhiliang (pictured) had resigned as a non-executive director due to changes in his employment role. In the same announcement, the state-backed developer said that He Qi had resigned as an independent, non-executive director of the company with effect from that same day, due to changes in his career plans. The company has now appointed Li Yao, 36, as a non-executive director on its board.
Hong Kong-based asset manager VMS Group announced on 2 May that it has appointed Man Wing Chung as its chief investment officer with effect from that same day. In the newly created role Chung is expected to lead the expansion of the company’s capabilities in China and other parts of Asia. Prior to taking on his new role at VMS this month, Chung served more than six years at Value Partners Group, where he held the title of investment director.
Keppel REIT Management announced to the Singapore exchange on 2 May that it has appointed Carol Ann Tan Mei Ling as an independent, non-executive director on its board from that day. Tan, who will also be part of the ESG committee for the manager of Keppel REIT, had until her retirement in 2019 served as head of real estate for Southeast Asia at law firm Clifford Chance Asia. Earlier, she had been a parter at WongPartnership from 2004 and 2015.
Caleb Seah has been promoted to capital transactions director with Logos Group in Singapore, according to a LinkedIn update. Seah received his new rank just one year after joining the unit of ESR as a senior manager in June of last year. Before joining Logos, Seah had spent nearly four years with Allianz Real Estate in Singapore where he joined as an investment analyst before working his way up to associate.
Cushman & Wakefield has promoted Dominic Brown to head of international research for APAC and EMEA, as well as head of research for Australia and New Zealand. The step up for Brisbane-based Brown comes after he had spent four years as head of insight and analysis for Asia Pacific with the firm. The University of Southhampton graduate has now been with the Cushman & Wakefield group since 2011 when he joined what was then DTZ as an associate director.
Kok Keong Tan has joined SBI Digital Markets in Singapore as head of real estate with the digital asset manager, according to a LinkedIn update. Tan joins the Singapore unit of Tokyo-listed SBI from FundPlaces, a real estate crowdfunding start-up he co-founded more than eight years ago. Also from 2020 through October of last year Tan worked with tokenised asset platform Kasa Singapore, including serving most recently as chief real estate officer.
If you know of other Asia real estate professionals changing their jobs, getting promoted or just doing something exciting, please contact us here at Mingtiandi.
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