Vanke may evolve with new leader

Zhu Jiusheng, the new president of Chinese real estate developer Vanke Co Ltd, on Thursday made his debut at a news conference in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, replacing Yu Liang, who will leave the position after 18 years of service.

Yu will remain as the chairman of the Shenzhen-based property giant, which was founded by Wang Shi.

Vanke announced on Wednesday night that Zhu has been appointed the president and CEO.

Born in 1969, Zhu has a doctor's degree in economics from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law and used to work in the Shenzhen branch of China Construction Bank Corporation. He joined Vanke in 2012 as a senior vice-president and had been leading several subsidiaries and affiliated financial firms.

The choice of a new president with a financial academic and professional background gave markets the impression that the housing market giant would be evolving towards a finance-oriented development model.

In response, Yu remarked at the news conference that finance will not become the company's priority, but admitted the financial elements in the real estate market will be more and more critical.

Zhu also vowed he won't change the company's established strategies and won't directly participate in financial business.

In fact, Zhu is already influencing Vanke's strategy formation.

"In our operating guidelines, cash flow is regarded as the foundation, and that is the contribution of Zhu," Yu said, adding that he believes the concept will be strengthened after Zhu takes the office.

Yan Yuejin, research director at E-house China R&D Institute, estimated Vanke will be able to utilize more financial approaches to develop service sectors rather than property projects, which should be beneficial to its stable development.

In recent years, the company has been expanding from solely focusing on the real estate business to including property management, long-term rental apartments, winter vacations, nursing services for the elderly, and education.

Yan noted Vanke still needs all kinds of talent for it to expand its business into new cities and areas of focus, which is the key for its development in the future.