According to a report by Caixin, Yu Liang, the former chairman of the real estate giant China Vanke Co.,Ltd., appears to have been out of contact for half a month.
The reason for his disappearance, as reported by Caixin, relates to Vanke's project co-investment initiative. Initially designed to provide a profit-sharing mechanism for the professional manager team, it has reportedly become problematic during the industry downturn. The lack of transparency in internal co-investments and potential issues with irregular profit distribution are expected to face renewed scrutiny. Yu Liang joined Vanke in 1990, became a director in 1994, assumed the role of company president in 2001, and was appointed Chairman of the Board of Vanke in 2017. In 2019, he famously declared the most resonant phrase of the past six years: "Survive." He resigned as chairman in January 2025. As Shenzhen Metro came to the forefront, Xin Jie, the former Party Committee Secretary of Shenzhen Metro and Chairman of Vanke, took the helm and implemented sweeping reforms: the regional management layer was abolished, shifting from regional jurisdiction to direct management; functional centers were optimized, with the group headquarters adding 11 centers including an Audit and Supervision Center and a Human Resources Center to strengthen risk control and strategic operations. The core change was a shift from decentralization to centralization, significantly weakening local authority. Simultaneously, there was a major shake-up in the core management team. Board Chairman Yu Liang, President Zhu Jiusheng, and Board Secretary Zhu Xu collectively resigned. Yu Liang's role changed to Executive Vice President of the group, Zhu Jiusheng no longer holds any position at Vanke, and Zhu Xu moved to work in the Long-term Rental Apartment Division. Xin Jie succeeded Yu Liang as the new Chairman of the Board of China Vanke Co.,Ltd.. Yu Liang, Li Feng, Hua Cui, and Li Gang were appointed as Executive Vice Presidents of the group, while Tian Jun took over as Board Secretary. Shenzhen Metro Group assumed comprehensive control of Vanke. However, in October of this year, the market revealed that Xin Jie was taken away while attending a meeting in Shenzhen on September 18 and has not made any public appearances since; his desk at the Vanke headquarters in Shenzhen remained vacant. On October 12, the situation was clarified when Xin Jie resigned for personal reasons. It must be said that Vanke has been facing turbulent times over the past two years. Shenzhen Metro provided Vanke with loans exceeding 20 billion yuan. Recently, there were reports that Vanke's debt resolution would follow a market-oriented approach. Since December, Vanke's stocks and bonds have both suffered significant declines, while debt extension plans have been steadily progressing. On a positive note, Vanke has made significant progress in resolving its debt. The extension proposals for two medium-term notes, "22 Vanke MTN004" and "22 Vanke MTN005," totaling 5.7 billion yuan, were both approved. Coupled with the previously implemented extension plan for the "21 Vanke 02" bond with a balance of 1.1 billion yuan, Vanke has now successfully extended three bonds totaling 6.8 billion yuan, temporarily averting a default crisis. Shenzhen Metro provided another capital infusion: Vanke A announced that its largest shareholder, Shenzhen Metro Group, will provide a loan of up to 2.36 billion yuan to the company. The loan is intended for repaying the principal and interest of bonds issued by the company in the public market. The loan term is 36 months, with an interest rate set at the 1-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) published by the National Interbank Funding Center on the working day preceding each loan drawdown date, minus 66 basis points.
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