Sun Hung Kai picks Shenzhen expert to spearhead developer’s growth strategy in southern China’s Greater Bay Area
- Wu Xiangdong is a former executive director of state-owned developer China Resources Land
- SHKP needs expert with strong background in commercial properties to speed up Greater Bay Area expansion, analyst says
The company, Hong Kong’s largest developer by market value, said Wu, 52, had been appointed as an independent non-executive director. He is widely expected to leverage his expertise of working in China to speed up its property projects on the mainland.
“It is a clever move, as SHKP needs an expert with a strong background in commercial properties to speed up its expansion in the Greater Bay Area,” said Louis Tse Ming-kwong, managing director of brokerage VC Asset Management. The Greater Bay Area refers to the Chinese government’s plan to link the cities of Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing into an integrated economic and business hub.
An independent non-executive director provides creative contribution to the board through independent oversight and constructive views, Tse said. “But you never know. Wu may be promoted as executive director, if he proves his worth.”
It is an unwritten rule that all senior executives at state-owned enterprises should be members of the Communist Party. Wu will be the first mainland Chinese as well as Communist Party member to serve on SHKP’s board.
He holds a double bachelor’s degree in construction management and engineering mechanics, as well as a master’s degree in municipal engineering, from Tsinghua University, as well as an MBA from the University of San Francisco.