One Of Chinas Richest Women Takes Over For Her Father At Real Estate Developer Country Garden

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One of China's richest women has taken full responsibility for Country Garden, a prominent property developer, following the resignation of her father, joining a number of top businessmen who have quit their jobs during China's historic recession.

Yang Huiyang succeeded his father Yang Guoqiang as chairman of the company he founded, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday, showing that the appointment became effective the same day.

Yang, 68, also known as Yeung Kwok Keung in Cantonese, is stepping down as president "due to age," the statement said.

Senior Ian was a farmer and builder before founding Country Garden in 1992. In just over ten years, he turned the company into one of the largest developers in the country.

In 2007, the company held a record $1.7 billion IPO in Hong Kong. Last year, Country Garden was China's largest developer in terms of revenue, reaching $67 billion.

Young Yang has been the company's co-chairman since 2018 and manages day-to-day operations with his father.

Yang, 41, is worth $9.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Thursday. That makes her the second richest woman in China, after Wu Yajun, the 59-year-old founder of Longfor Properties, whose net worth is $9.7 billion.

Yang Huiyan's wealth is largely derived from a controlling stake in Country Garden, most of which his father passed to him in 2005, two years before the company went public.

Ian's father stepped down at a time when China's real estate market was mired in a historic recession.

The real estate sector has been reeling from crisis to crisis since 2020, when Beijing launched a crackdown on property developers who over-borrowed to stem their heavy debt burden. A debt crisis hit the sector after Evergrande, China's second largest property developer, experienced a severe cash flow crisis and defaulted on its debts in late 2021.

Since then, several cash-strapped developers have filed for bankruptcy protection.

Country Garden's share price has lost more than half of its value over the past year.

© Courtesy of CNN. An aerial view of a residential building being developed by Country Garden in Zhenjiang City, east China's Jiangsu Province, in October 2021. — Fang Dongxu/Future Publishing/Getty Images/QUEUE

Home sales fell along with buyer confidence. Sentiment cooled further last year after thousands of homebuyers refused to continue paying mortgages on unfinished properties. The collapse of the real estate market has hit local government finances, which are heavily dependent on revenue from land sales, hard.

The authorities have changed policies to save the industry, including relaxing restrictions on lending to developers and making loans. But recovery seems slow.

Yan Guotian's resignation is the latest in a series of resignations by well-known real estate entrepreneurs.

In November, Zhang Lei, founder and chairman of Modern Land, resigned from the company. Modern Land is a major Beijing-based developer building energy-efficient homes across the country.

In October, Wu Yajun, founder and chairman of Longfor Properties, stepped down due to health and age, the company said.

In September, Pan Shiyi and his wife, Zhang Xin, stepped down as president and CEO of Soho China, a Beijing-based property developer.

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