Hang Lung’s Ronnie Chan passes the baton to son
Property market stalwart Ronnie Chan Chi-chung has stepped down as chairman of Hang Lung Group after more than three decades at the helm, passing the baton to the third generation in the family to run one of the city’s biggest commercial landlords.
Chan, 74, retired at the conclusion of the developer’s annual shareholders’ meeting yesterday, according to a company filing.
He will also relinquish his role as chairman and executive director of the group’s 60 per centowned Hang Lung Properties, and will be made honorary chairman.
Chan joined Hang Lung 12 years after his father, Chan Tsengchi, founded the group in 1960, and oversaw it as chairman from 1991. Hong Kong has experienced a boom-bust cycle over that time when rife speculation sent home prices skyrocketing through the 1990s before social unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic combined to hurt the market.
His son, Adriel Chan, will take over as group chairman in a previously announced succession plan. He joined the group in 2010 and was appointed executive director in 2016 and then vicechairman in 2020.
The new chairman believed there were big development opportunities in Hong Kong and on the mainland, adding Hang Lung would pursue growth across the border, where it has gained a foothold since 1992.
The mainland’s commercial and residential property market contributed 68 per cent of the company’s rental income last year, according to its latest annual report. It has seven office and five residential projects across cities including Shanghai, Wuxi, Kunming, Wuhan, and Shenyang.
Although the operating environment had been difficult recently, Adriel Chan said there was room for growth, depending on how the group capitalised on the opportunities, especially in high-end retailing.
The expansion of Plaza 66 in Shanghai, which houses the flagship stores of French luxury icons Hermes and Dior, is due to be completed in 2026. The firm has obtained approval from the local government to expand the 55,000 square metre mall on West Nanjing Road. The extra 3,000 square metres of retail space can accommodate 20 new stores.
Hang Lung would continue to monitor the Hong Kong market to increase its land bank. A surge in interest rates since March 2022 had diminished the market appeal, Adriel Chan said.