Leadership

Chairman of major Chinese developer Vanke is stepping down, and shares are jumping

Key Points
  • Wang Shi, founder and chairman of real estate developer China Vanke, announced his departure from the company
  • His move follows a long ownership struggle at the company where financial conglomerate Baoneng Group sought to oust Vanke's management
  • Shares of China Vanke jump after Wang's announcement
Bobby Yip | Reuters

The founder and chairman of developer China Vanke, Wang Shi, said he will step down from the board following a long power struggle over the company's ownership.

"Today, Vanke announced a new board of directors of the candidate list. When I was considering the list of board of directors, I have decided to no longer be nominated as Vanke directors," Wang wrote in post on his WeChat account.

"In the future, Vanke will enter a new stage of development. Today, I pass on the baton to Yu Liang and his team, and I believe this is the best time as they are younger but at the same time, fully mature," he added.

A shareholder meeting to elect new board members would be held on June 30 and the company said it had nominated three senior executives of major shareholder Shenzhen Metro as non-executive directors.

Following Wang's announcement, shares of China Vanke jumped. The company was trading around 1.7 percent higher at 10:35 a.m. HK/SG.

China Vanke was embroiled in an ownership tussle as financial conglomerate Baoneng Group sought to oust the company's management since late-2015. The power struggle ended when Shenzhen Metro, a state-owned subway operator, gained control of the developer earlier this month.

— CNBC's Daisy Cherry contributed to this report.