China International Capital Corp. (CICC), one of the country's top investment banks, on Sunday nominated finance industry veteran Chen Liang as its new chairman, the company said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The nomination came two days after Chen resigned as chairman of China Galaxy Securities Co. (CGS), a position he had held since last year.
Both CICC and CGS are controlled by Central Huijin Investment, the domestic arm of the country's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp.
Leading CICC could be challenging for Chen, said a person close to CGS, who described the two firms as "almost totally different." CGS is a typical state-owned enterprise, while CICC is more market-oriented and asset-light, focusing on investment banking and wealth management, the person told Caixin.
Set up in 1995, CICC was the first Sino-foreign joint venture investment bank on the Chinese mainland. Its businesses also include brokerage and asset management.
CICC's board will elect Chen as chairman once his nomination as executive director is approved by shareholders, according to the exchange filing.
The 55-year-old has more than two decades of experience in the securities industry, with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Xinjiang University and an EMBA from Shanghai's prestigious Fudan University.
Chen is set to take over as chairman from Shen Rujun, who resigned on Sunday. Shen, 59, remains Central Huijin president.
CGS President Wang Sheng has temporarily taken over duties left by Chen, the company said in a filing to the Shanghai exchange on Sunday.
According to the CICC filing, CEO Huang Zhaohui, the same age as Shen, also resigned on Sunday. Chief Financial Officer Wu Bo has temporarily taken over his duties.
At the end of June, Central Huijin held a 40% stake in CICC, while Central Huijin-controlled China Galaxy Financial Holdings Co. owned 50% in CGS, according to the securities companies' interim reports.
CICC's other well-known investors include the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Alibaba (China) Network Technology Co.
CGS's big-name backers include BlackRock.
CICC and CGS ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in terms of net profits in 2021, according to the latest publicly available data from the Securities Association of China, whose ranking covered 106 domestic securities companies.
