A flurry of board moves at mainland China property firms leads Mingtiandi’s first roundup of regional personnel moves in 2022, with Agile Group, Greentown Services and Longfor Group all reaching for new leadership as the industry’s debt crisis grinds on.
Also in the news, a CapitaLand-managed Malaysian REIT has gambled on a new chief executive and the Temasek-backed group has also named a pair of independent, non-executive directors to its CapitaLand Investment business as it seeks to move beyond its former identity as a developer.
Agile Group Holdings announced on 31 December that Chen Zhongqi has resigned as an executive director of the company effective that same day. The 53-year-old’s departure after more than seven years on the board of the Hong Kong-listed developer also means that he will give up his seat on the board of directors’ risk management committee. With Chinese developers under pressure, Guangzhou-based Agile has seen its stock slide nearly 58 percent in the last six months. The company has yet to name a replacement for Chen, who led its construction division.
Greentown Service Group said in a statement to the Hong Kong exchange on 30 December that its chairperson, Li Hairong had resigned from her leadership role effective that same day, and would become a non-executive director of the company. The property management division of Hangzhou developer Greentown China Holdings said that Li, who had led the service group since 2015, is being replaced as chair by Yang by 49-year-old Yang Zhangfa, who has been an executive director of the company for more than six years.
Longfor Group Holdings on 31 December released an updated roster of directors to the Hong Kong stock exchange showing that Wang Guangjian had retired from his role as an executive director with the company after less than two years. The Beijing-based developer had first announced Wang’s departure in June and has yet to name a replacement for the 21-year company veteran. Now 50, Wang also recently resigned from the board of Greentown Service.
The manager of CapitaLand Malaysia Trust announced to the Bursa Malaysia on 27 December that Tan Choon Siang has been named as chief executive of the retail-focused REIT from 1 January. Tan had served as chief financial officer of CapitaLand-managed Ascendas India Trust since July 2017, and spent more than four years with casino developer and operator Genting Singapore in addition to previous experience at Goldman Sachs.. Beyond his professional endeavours, Tan ranked 157th on the all-time money list among Singapore poker players, according to online gambling database The Hendon Mob, with $16,871 in winnings. Tan, 45, replaces Low Peck Chen, who has been appointed as Malaysia chief representative for CapitaLand.
CapitaLand Investment added some tech cred to its recently adopted new economy creed on 24 December when the SGX-listed investment manager announced that it has appointed venture capitalist David Su Tuong Sing as a non-executive, independent director on its board. Su, who founded tech VC firm Matrix Partners China in 2008, joined the board on 1 January. The venture capital vetean was also a founding partner of KPCB China (Kleiner Perkins) and has invested in firms including Didi Chuxing, Baidu and Focus Media.
On the same day that it announced David Su’s appointment, CapitaLand Investment also said that it has named former Cushman & Wakefield Capital and Lazard Asia executive Helen Wong Siu Ming as a non-executive, independent director on its board. In her day job, Wong currently serves as chief executive of investment firm Lapis Global, as well as chief operating officer for Bravia Capital Partners, a family office investment firm founded by Bharat Bhise, an Indian-American dealmaker who is best-known for having been a board member of five companies backed by bankrupt mainland conglomerate HNA and for having jointly held a 30 percent stake in the recently restructured firm on behalf of unspecified beneficiaries.
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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