"Founding veteran" Lan Yadong said goodbye to Hengqin Life Insurance, which had been at the helm for eight years.
On the evening of April 15, Hengqin Life Insurance announced that Lan Yadong proposed retirement to the shareholder unit and the board of directors for personal reasons, and applied for resignation from the company's chairman, executive director and all positions in the company. At the same time, Qian Zhonghua was elected as an executive director and chairman of the board, and formally assumed his duties after the approval of his chairman's qualifications.
What is concerning is that Lan Yadong is only 57 years old this year, and it is still early to retire, while the "successor" Qian Zhonghua is 62 years old and has reached the normal retirement age. "The continuous capital increase of major shareholders has broken the original balanced equity structure, which may have been out of the ideal environment for professional manager Lan Yadong. Some industry insiders analyzed to reporters.
Lan Yadong resigned
As the company's "founding veteran", Lan Yadong can be regarded as the soul of Hengqin Life.
"Lan Yadong has participated in the preparation of the company since 2016 and has served as the chairman of the board since April 2017. In the announcement, Hengqin Life spoke highly of Lan Yadong's contribution to the company and expressed his gratitude.
Lan Yadong was born in September 1967, 57 years old this year, a member of the Communist Party of China, graduated from Shandong University with a major in management science, and is a senior economist. Before joining Hengqin Life, Lan Yadong worked for Chinese Life Insurance and Chinese Life Insurance, and was a "veteran" of life insurance. He has successively served as the deputy director of the agency department of Chinese Life Shandong Branch, the assistant to the general manager, deputy general manager and general manager of the individual insurance sales department and the planning department of the head office, and the assistant to the president, financial director, vice president and executive director of Chinese Life Insurance.
Regarding Lan Yadong's departure, the relevant person in charge of the company told the reporter of "International Financial News" that "Mr. Lan's resignation will not have an impact on the operation of the company's board of directors, and the company's current operation and management work is normal and orderly." ”
The announcement also revealed that on April 13, Hengqin Life Insurance held a shareholders' meeting and a board meeting to elect Qian Zhonghua as an executive director and chairman, and officially performed his duties after the approval of his chairman's qualifications.
Qian Zhonghua, the 62-year-old former independent director of Hengqin Life Insurance, graduated from the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, obtained an EMBA master's degree from China Europe International Business School, and is a senior accountant. Judging from his resume, Qian Zhonghua is an "old lady". He joined CPIC Life in November 1995 and served as Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, General Manager and Executive Director, Chief Auditor, Head of Audit, and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Audit Center of CPIC Group.
"Mr. Qian has rich management experience and deep insight into the market, and has been a leader in the strategic transformation and upgrading of large insurance companies, with outstanding leadership and professional ability. The above-mentioned person in charge of Hengqin Life added that during his one-year tenure as an independent director of the company, he was conscientious and fully understood the company's operating conditions, and at the same time put forward many practical and future-oriented opinions and suggestions for the company's development.
It is worth mentioning that in February this year, Ling Libo, the former deputy general manager of Hengan Standard Life, was approved to serve as the general manager of Hengqin Life. So far, the chairman and general manager of Hengqin Life Insurance have been replaced.
The major shareholder increased his capital exceptionally
Hengqin Life Insurance was established in December 2016 and is headquartered in Zhuhai Hengqin Free Trade Zone. The company is jointly funded and founded by 1 state-owned shareholder Zhuhai Huachuang Investment Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhuhai Huachuang"), and 4 private enterprise shareholders - Hengtong Group, Shenzhen Pearl Red Trading Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Guangdong Pearl Group Shenzhen Investment Co., Ltd.), Suzhou Huanya Industrial Co., Ltd. and Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co., Ltd., with an initial registered capital of 2 billion yuan, each holding 20%, and the shareholding ratio is balanced.
Lan Yadong once told the media that Hengqin Life Insurance adheres to the principle of "professional people do professional things", with a clear equity structure and harmonious relationship, which is an "ideal environment" for professional managers.
However, with the capital increase of major shareholders, the balanced shareholding structure was broken.
The first equity change occurred on June 28, 2022, and the registered capital of Hengqin Life Insurance was changed from 2 billion yuan to 2.385 billion yuan. The capital increase was increased by Zhuhai Huachuang singlely, and its shareholding ratio was changed from 20% to 32.90%, and the shareholding ratio of the remaining four shareholders was changed from 20% to 16.775%.
On March 28 this year, Hengqin Life Insurance Company increased its capital again, and the registered capital increased from 2.385 billion yuan to 3.137 billion yuan. The capital increase is still a single capital increase of Zhuhai Huachuang, so far, its shareholding ratio has increased to 49%, breaking the restriction that the shareholding ratio of a single shareholder shall not exceed one-third of the registered capital of the insurance company.
It is understood that in recent years, there have also been individual insurance companies with a single shareholder's shareholding ratio exceeding one-third of the limit, but most of them are risk disposal by insurance companies, or equity is undertaken by designated institutions. To a certain extent, this may reflect that the current operating conditions of Hengqin Life Insurance are not ideal. Some market participants said bluntly.
The reporter of "International Financial News" checked the annual reports of Hengqin Life Insurance and found that in the eight years since its establishment, the company's insurance business has grown rapidly, with 863 million yuan, 2.462 billion yuan, 5.955 billion yuan, 6.622 billion yuan, 6.786 billion yuan, 7.971 billion yuan, and 8.52 billion yuan from 2017 to 2023, respectively. In terms of net profit, it fluctuated greatly, and in the first four years of opening, it was in a state of loss, but it soon turned losses into profits in 2020, achieving a net profit of 59 million yuan, and although the net profit declined in 2021, it still maintained profitability, breaking the business curse of "seven flats and eight profits" in the mainland life insurance industry (flat in the seventh year after opening and entering the profit cycle in the eighth year).
However, Hengqin Life's profit cycle has not yet fully arrived. In 2022, the company fell into the red again, with a net loss of 179 million yuan for the year. Judging from the 2023 solvency report, in the first three quarters, the company's net loss increased to 320 million yuan. It should be noted that in the solvency report for the fourth quarter of 2023, the company did not disclose operating indicators such as net profit, net assets, and return on net assets.
At present, the life insurance industry has entered the deep water area of transformation, and for the new management of Hengqin Life, how to achieve a turnaround and whether it can handle the balance between major shareholders and market-oriented operations will face a strong test.