The founder of China's largest real estate company retires, and his 41-year-old daughter takes over

　　Original title: Burst!

The founder of China's largest real estate company retired, and his 41-year-old daughter took over!

Became the "richest man in China" at the age of 26, and the company's stock price soared! 

　　Author: Li Yingquan

　　On the morning of March 1, Country Garden (HK.02007) announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the company's chairman and executive director Yang Guoqiang proposed to resign from the company's chairman and executive director positions due to age reasons, effective from March 1, 2023 .

After resigning, Yang Guoqiang will continue to participate in the company management of Country Garden in the form of a special consultant.

　　At the same time, Yang Huiyan, the co-chairman of Country Garden, has taken over as the chairman and was appointed as the chairman of the company's nomination committee, corporate governance committee, environment, society and governance committee, executive committee, and remuneration committee. Effective from January 1, and will continue to serve as the company's executive director.

The announcement also emphasized that Yang Guoqiang has confirmed that there is no disagreement with the board of directors, and there are no other matters related to his resignation that need to be disclosed.

　　As the founder of China's largest real estate company, Yang Guoqiang, who was born in 1955, is now 68 years old.

Before that, he had planned for a long time for the succession of his second daughter Yang Huiyan, and the "handover" of his retirement this time was also expected by the outside world.

As of noon on March 1, Country Garden shares rose 7%.

　　Yang Huiyan takes over as chairman

　　The announcement shows that since 2018, Yang Huiyan has been transferred from the vice chairman of Country Garden to the co-chairman, and together with Yang Guoqiang, manages the daily work of the group and is responsible for the strategic planning of the group. She has accumulated many years of business and management experience.

This succession reflects Yang Guoqiang's full trust and recognition of Yang Huiyan, and the company will achieve better development under the leadership of the board of directors and management.

　　According to the resume, Yang Huiyan is 41 years old and graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in marketing and logistics. She also received an executive master of business administration (EMBA) degree from Tsinghua University in 2019.

Yang Huiyan was appointed as executive director in December 2006, appointed as vice chairman in March 2012, and transferred from vice chairman to co-chairman in December 2018.

Yang Huiyan was previously also a member of the Corporate Governance Committee, Environment, Social and Governance Committee, Executive Committee and Finance Committee, and also served as a director of certain members of the Group.

　　Yang Huiyan first joined Country Garden in 2005, and successively worked in investment planning center, procurement department, human resources management center, digital management center and other important business departments and held major management positions.

Since 2018, Yang Huiyan, as the co-chairman, has jointly managed the daily work of the group with Yang Guoqiang, and is responsible for the group's strategic investment and new business exploration based on existing businesses.

In addition, Yang Huiyan was appointed as the chairman and non-executive director of Country Garden Services (HK.06098) in March 2018.

　　As of the announcement date, the current executive directors of Country Garden are Yang Huiyan (Chairman), Mo Bin (President), Yang Ziying, Cheng Guangyu, Wu Bijun and Su Baiyuan; the non-executive director is Chen Chong, and the independent non-executive directors are Liming, Shi Liqian, Tang Huidong, Huang Hongyan and Du Youguo .

Among them, Yang Huiyan is the sister of executive director Yang Ziying, the wife of non-executive director Chen Chong, and the cousin of Yang Zhicheng, a senior manager of Country Garden.

　　As of now, according to the meaning of Part XV of the Securities and Futures Ordinance, Yang Huiyan indirectly holds 14.54 billion shares of Country Garden through her 100% interest in Bisheng Company, accounting for approximately 52.60% of the total issued share capital of Country Garden.

　　According to the announcement, Yang Huiyan's current term of office is from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024, and will retire by rotation and be re-elected at the company's annual general meeting in accordance with the company's articles of association.

Yang Huiyan's basic annual salary in Country Garden is RMB 370,000 per year and other fringe benefits. In addition, she can also receive a year-end management bonus set by the board of directors.

Yang Huiyan's salary will remain unchanged after she takes over as chairman of the board of directors.

　　It is worth mentioning that since listing in 2007, Yang Huiyan has not reduced the shares of Country Garden, but due to factors such as the company's allotment financing, Yang Huiyan's shareholding ratio has been passively diluted.

In addition, in December 2022, Bisheng Company under Yang Huiyan reduced its holdings and cashed out about HK$5.055 billion in Country Garden Service shares, and then used the funds to provide Country Garden with interest-free and unsecured long-term loans.

　　The succession road has been paved before listing

　　Yang Guoqiang was born in poverty in the early days. He joined the Beijiao Economic Development Corporation in 1984 and formed a construction team in Beijiao District, Shunde County.

From 1991 to 1992, Beijiao Economic Development Corporation and two other companies jointly established Shunde Sanhe Property Development Co., Ltd. to jointly develop projects in Bijiang Village and Sangui Village. Yang Guoqiang was the head of Beijiao Economic Development Corporation. Representative, as the project leader.

This has also become a starting opportunity for Country Garden.

　　In 1993, the Beijiao Town Government of Shunde signed a restructuring agreement with five directors including Yang Guoqiang, and the Beijiao Construction Engineering Company was transformed into a private company.

Since then, under the leadership of Yang Guoqiang, the company has successively developed Shunde Country Garden, Guangzhou Country Garden, South China Country Garden, Country Garden Phoenix City, Licheng Country Garden and other projects, and Country Garden has gradually become a strong force in China's real estate industry.

　　In 2007, Country Garden was successfully listed on the main board of Hong Kong, raising tens of billions of dollars, which became an important node in the company's development.

Before going public, Yang Guoqiang had already transferred all the shares under his personal name to his second daughter, Yang Huiyan, which also put the 26-year-old Yang Huiyan on the seat of "China's richest man".

　　Although Yang Huiyan and Yang Guoqiang's family are still the absolute controlling shareholders of Country Garden in terms of equity structure, in terms of corporate governance, Country Garden has been replaced by professional managers in important links such as operations, marketing, land, engineering, and finance.

For more than two decades, professional managers such as Mo Bin, Wu Jianbin, and Zhu Rongbin have helped Country Garden achieve breakthroughs in capitalization and 100 billion scale, and formed a relatively mature modern enterprise management system to escort Yang Huiyan's succession.

　　In 2018, since Yang Huiyan was reassigned as co-chairman, Yang Guoqiang has deliberately faded out of the public eye, and his energy has been more focused on thinking about corporate transformation and philanthropy.

Driven by Yang Guoqiang, Country Garden has established two new business segments, modern agriculture and robotics, on the basis of its main real estate business, opened up a second growth curve, and strives to transform into a high-tech comprehensive enterprise.

　　In terms of philanthropy, the Yang Guoqiang family and Country Garden have participated in social charitable donations exceeding 10 billion yuan since their establishment, and actively participated in targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization in 57 counties in 16 provinces across the country, helping 490,000 people out of poverty.

In 2021, Yang Guoqiang will be awarded the title of "National Advanced Individual in Poverty Alleviation" at the National Poverty Alleviation Summary and Commendation Conference.

(e company)