Former financial secretary Antony Leung to join Nan Fung Group as CEO
Former financial secretary will stand down from his Blackstone position after helping the company open doors in the mainland market
Former financial secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung is standing down as greater China chairman for United States-based Blackstone Group to join privately run Hong Kong-based property developer Nan Fung as chief executive in February.
Leung, Hong Kong’s finance chief from 2001 to 2003, would remain a senior adviser to the American private equity firm and a member of its international advisory board, the two companies said.
Leung joined Blackstone in 2007 to run its China office and help it break into the mainland market. In the same year, state-run China Investment Corporation bought a US$3 billion stake in Blackstone’s initial public offering, in a deal brokered by Leung.
Antony played a major role in helping to build these [mainland] relationships
“Today Blackstone is in a very strong position in China, with deep relationships across the firm on the mainland and in Hong Kong,” Blackstone chief executive, chairman and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman said in the announcement. “Antony played a major role in helping to build these relationships.”
Vivien Chen Wai-wai, Nan Fung’s chairwoman, said she hoped Leung would lead the company, founded in the 1950s, into an era of greater growth.
Before joining the government, Leung was JP Morgan Chase’s chairman in Asia and the head of north Asia investment banking at Citigroup. He resigned as financial secretary after it was revealed he had bought a luxury Lexus car ahead of announcing tax increases on new vehicles in the 2003 budget.
Nan Fung has been actively expanding on the mainland.