The battle for Vanke: Wang Shi’s own fight
The twists and turns of a six-month saga which has pitted the chairman of China’s largest property developer against its major shareholders
Wang Shi has many public faces: University of Cambridge visiting scholar, passionate mountaineer, spokesman for a jeep brand and new president of the Asian Rowing Federation.
But it’s as chairman of China’s largest property developer, Vanke, that he is facing the struggle of his life in a battle for control of the company.
The over six-month long saga that has seen the company’s shares suspended and personal battles break out between Wang and major shareholders has worried investors, but more importantly it has highlighted corporate governance problems long rooted in Chinese companies.
“The professional manager system is not mature in China and many companies are still ruled by the voice of one man alone,” said Dong Dengxin, a finance researcher at the Wuhan University of Science and Technology.
“A modern enterprise should separate powers between boards, shareholders and managements and decisions have to be made through a decision-making mechanism,” he said.
The saga began last December when Shenzhen-based property and insurance conglomerate Baoneng upped its stake in Vanke to 24.26 per cent, becoming its largest shareholder and overtaking the holding of state-backed conglomerate China Resources, which had maintained a friendly relationship with Vanke for 15 years.