Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd. (“Ping An” or the “Group”, HKSE: 2318; SSE: 601318) today announced that it has appointed Mr. Wan Fang as President of Ping An Asset Management Co., Ltd.
Mr. Wan was previously Head of the Office of Board of Directors at Ping An Group, and the Representative of the Group’s securities affairs. The appointment has been approved by Board of Directors of Ping An Asset Management Co., Ltd. and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. Mr. Wan has resigned from his two previous positions.
Mr. Wan, 43, joined Ping An in 1993 and has held various positions, including Assistant General Manager of Ping An’s foreign exchange and futures department, Senior General Manager of Ping An Futures, General Manager of Futian District Branch of Ping An Securities and Vice General Manager of investment banking at Ping An Securities. He was also Head of the Secretariat of Ping An’s Board of Directors and Head of the Office of Ping An’s Board of Directors.
He received a master’s degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 1989. Since joining Ping An, he has played an instrumental role in the construction of a foreign exchange transaction risk management system for the Group; the establishment of Ping An Futures Ltd; and the construction of a back-office operation system for the investment banking division of Ping An Securities. When he was serving in the capacity as Head of the Office of Board of Directors, using his experience in investments, Mr. Wan played a pivotal role in the introduction of HSBC as a strategic shareholder of Ping An, fostering a co-operative relationship in management and technical know-how between the two organizations, and ultimately in the listing of Ping An’s H shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Under an initiative lead by Mr. Wan, Ping An also successfully completed the initial public offering of A shares in the domestic Shanghai market.
Mr. Wan is the ideal person for the position of General Manager of Ping An Asset Management because of his rich experience in investment-related businesses and his unparalleled strength in foreign exchange, futures, securities and capital markets. He has a deep understanding of corporate governance issues for the Group, and has demonstrated strong leadership and operational capabilities in all his previous capacities.
Ping An believes that Mr. Wan will become a vital member of a strong international investment team lead by Ping An’s Chief Investment Officer John Pearce, formerly the CEO of First State Investments; and Timothy Chan, who was the President for China at BNP Paribas Asset Management based in Hong Kong.
Mr. Wu Ping, the former president of Ping An Asset Management, was appointed Chairman of Ping An Health Insurance Company of China, Ltd last month.
Ping An Asset Management was established in 2005, evolving from Ping An’s insurance capital operation centre. After years of development, Ping An has established a unified investment and asset management platform comprising asset management units based in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The Group’s investment team is now manned by more than 10 executives from internationally renowned investment houses, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, and a group of asset management experts with rich experience and strong track records in the Chinese domestic markets. Ping An believes that with continuous efforts, asset management will become one of the Group’s three core businesses, alongside insurance and commercial banking.
