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Peng, 41, has an estimated net worth of US$1.8 billion and ranked 221st in the list of China’s wealthiest, according to Forbes. Photo: Handout
BusinessCompanies

Beike names CEO Peng Yongdong as new chairman following Zuo Hui’s death

  • Peng, 41, to take over New York Stock Exchange-listed company, according to a statement filed with US regulators
  • Company executives, stakeholders agree to not dispose of any ordinary shares or American depositary shares that they currently hold for 365 days
Millionaires and billionaires
Cheryl Arcibal
Cheryl Arcibal
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Peng Yongdong, the co-founder, chief executive and executive director of Beike Zhaofang, which is also known as KE Holdings, has been appointed as the company’s new chairman following the death last week of Zuo Hui, the company’s founder.

Peng, 41, will take over the reins of Beike, China’s largest online real estate listings and transactions platform, according to a statement filed with US regulators. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

“I hope all of us could carry Mr Zuo’s belief of ‘doing the right thing even if it’s difficult’ and move forward on the long journey ahead of us in the housing transactions and services industry,” Peng said on Monday. “We are confident that, with the support and trust of our customers, employees, shareholders and business partners, our management team will collectively and unswervingly strive to accomplish Mr Zuo’s wish as well as our mission of ‘admirable service, joyful living’,” he added.

Zuo died at the age of 50 following “an unexpected worsening of [his] illness”. He has been named Beike’s chairman emeritus.

Beike’s financial backers include some of the most high-profile private equity and venture capital investors in Asia, including Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group, Hillhouse Capital Group and Tencent Holdings (shown). Photo: AFP
Zuo launched Beike, which means seashell in Chinese, in 2018. The platform allowed Lianjia and other major agencies, including Century 21 China Real Estate and Zhonghuan Real Estate, to sell residential property online. It later expanded to become one of China’s largest offline property brokerages, earning revenue primarily from listing fees.
Its financial backers include some of the most high-profile private equity and venture capital investors in Asia, including Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group, Hillhouse Capital Group and Tencent Holdings.

Beike’s first-quarter net income more than tripled to 20.7 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion), while its gross transaction volume of homes jumped 224.2 per cent to 1.07 trillion yuan.

Peng has an estimated net worth of US$1.8 billion and ranked 221st in the list of China’s wealthiest, according to Forbes. Before joining Beike, he was a senior consultant at IBM between 2006 and 2010. He has an electrical engineering degree from Zhejiang University and an IMBA from Tsinghua University.

Beike also appointed Xu Wangang, the company’s chief operating officer, as a new executive director to the board, filling the vacancy left by Zuo.

The company’s executive directors and executive officers, as well as Propitious Global Holdings, the company’s principal shareholder, along with the family trust administering its shareholding interest, have also agreed that for a 365-day period from Monday, they will not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of the company’s ordinary shares or its American depositary shares that they currently hold.

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