Expected New President of Huarong Named President of Rival

What’s new: The long-awaited appointment of a new president of China’s troubled bad asset manager China Huarong Asset Management Co. Ltd. didn’t take place as expected.

Liang Qiang, who was expected to be the new president of Huarong, was named president of rival China Great Wall Asset Management Co. Ltd., according to a statement published Tuesday by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Liang, a former deputy Communist Party chief and executive director at China Great Wall, was approved to become the new Huarong president before the May Day holiday, separate sources close to Huarong told Caixin last week. But sources later said Liang didn’t accept the appointment.

“People in Huarong were surprised,” a person close to the matter said. Many said they thought Liang would arrive as Huarong president this week.

The background: Liang, 50, has extensive experience in China’s national asset management companies (AMCs). He was named deputy party chief of China Great Wall in January. Before joining Great Wall, he was a vice president of China Orient Asset Management Corp., overseeing the company’s bad-loan and financing businesses. Before that, he spent 20 years at another national AMC — China Cinda Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Huarong, the largest one of China’s four national AMCs, has been shaken since the downfall of its former Chairman Lai Xiaomin, who was executed in January for crimes including bribery.

Huarong’s presidency, the second-most senior management position after the chairman, has been vacant since December when former President Li Xin retired.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full story in Chinese, click here.

Related: Exclusive: Huarong Gets New President Amid Pressure on Bonds

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)

Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go.

Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Global’s new stock database.