Leaders often grabble with crisis by going into survival mode—that is, by cutting costs and doing everything in their power to keep the business afloat. But one of China’s richest women is doing the exact opposite: Yang Huiyan is donating to charity over half of her company, just as it struggles with the country’s real estate crisis.
Huiyan, who is chair of Country Garden Services Holdings Company, is giving about 55% of her personal stake in the property management firm, which is equivalent to about $826 million, to a charity founded by her younger sister.
According to a statement published by the company, Huiyan has donated around 675 million shares of Country Garden Services, equal to 20% of the total business, to the Guoqiang Foundation Hong Kong “for charitable purposes.”
Yang, who at the peak of her wealth was Asia’s richest woman, has seen her fortune slump 80% from $34 billion in about two years, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index, as the crisis engulfing China’s real estate sector has worsened. But with a fortune of almost $7 billion, her charitable donation will still leave her with riches beyond most people’s dreams.
The donation
The philanthropic pledge is one of Yang’s first power plays since she was promoted to chairwoman, after taking the role from her father, Yang Guoqiang, who stepped down from the positions of chairman and executive director in March.
After the donation, Yang has a 16.12% stake in Country Garden Services. But despite being dethroned as the company’s largest shareholder, the 41-year-old tycoon will still control the voting rights of the donated stock, giving her effective control of over 36% of the shares.
The Guoqiang Foundation pledged not to sell the shares within the next 10 years, according to the statement. The charity said it plans to use the proceeds from the shares to support the growth of science, education, culture, health care, and adolescent life in Hong Kong and the Guangdong/Hong Kong/Macao Greater Bay Area and for other public welfare purposes, such as subsidizing the underprivileged, disaster relief, and rural revitalization in the Chinese mainland.
What’s more, the foundation will enjoy all rights and interests as a shareholder except voting rights.
Grappling with China’s real estate crisis
The donation has not gone down well with some investors, however.
“We view this announcement as negative” for share prices, UBS analysts led by John Lam said in a research report on Monday, according to Bloomberg. “The timing of the donation seems unusual to us, due to the recent market discussion on the liquidity situation” for the main property operation.
Country Garden Holdings Company was once one of China’s largest private developers. But yesterday it warned of a net loss in the first half of this year, due to China’s real estate crisis.
“The expected net loss was primarily attributable to the decrease in gross profit margin for real estate business and the increase in provision of impairment for property projects under the impact of the downward trend in sales of the real estate industry,” the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday.