HANG SENG BANK "changes leadership"! A personnel change affecting two major families

The "leadership position" of the long-established Hong Kong financial institution HANG SENG BANK is about to be "handed over" between senior figures from two families.

On February 19, HANG SENG BANK announced that Chairman Li Yunlian will step down after the conclusion of the shareholders' annual general meeting in May 2025, ending her approximately 11-year tenure on the board.

Current Vice Chairman and CEO of Wing Tai Properties Limited, Zheng Weixin, will take over as Chairman. Zheng Weixin will also serve as an independent non-executive director of HANG SENG BANK starting April 1, 2025.

Thus, the "leadership position" of HANG SENG BANK will be handed over from the fourth generation of the Li family, Li Yunlian, to Zheng Weixin, who has deep connections with both Wharf Holdings and HSBC.

Outgoing Chairman Li Yunlian

The previous Chairman of HANG SENG BANK, Li Yunlian, took over the position in 2021 from the retired Qian Guofeng.

During her nearly four years in office, HANG SENG BANK has withstood numerous challenges and still achieved steady growth. Based on net profit attributable to shareholders, HANG SENG BANK's 2024 report showed a 10.4% increase compared to 2020.

Li Yunlian also holds another identity that may be more familiar to the public— the fourth generation of the Li family, "Hong Kong's invisible female billionaire."

The Li family is one of the "Four Great Families" of early Hong Kong, alongside the Chow Yung Tai family, the Ho Kai Dong family, and the Li Peicai family.

The Li family saw significant development under the second generation, Li Xishen, venturing into real estate and property. The third generation's representative, Li Xiaohua (Li Yunlian's father), even stepped out of traditional industries and entered the television industry.

In the 1960s, Li Xiaohua, along with Shao Yifu and others, bid for a ground television license in Hong Kong, later founding TVB (Hong Kong Wireless Television) and becoming one of the company's founders and its first chairman of the board. The Li family once held about 30% of the shares in Wireless Television, further enhancing the family's influence.

Among the thriving Li family, Li Yunlian stands out prominently. Media reports indicate that she was born in 1953 and went abroad to study alone at the age of 13. She first completed a bachelor's degree in art history at Smith College in the United States, then pursued further studies in law.

In 1977, Li Yunlian successfully entered Citibank's International Management Trainee Program, after which she focused on the financial sector, practicing for over 30 years in New York, London, Sydney, and other locations, accumulating rich experience in financial institutions, especially in the banking industry.

In 2012, the flagship company of the Li family, Hysan Development, appointed Li Yunlian as the new chairman of the board, marking her as the representative of the fourth generation of the Li family Around this time, she also became a director of companies such as Cathay Pacific.

In May 2014, Li Yunlian was appointed as an independent non-executive director and a member of the Risk Committee of HANG SENG BANK, and was subsequently appointed as a member of the Audit Committee and the Remuneration Committee of HANG SENG BANK.

In 2021, she took over from Qian Guofeng as the chairman of HANG SENG BANK and has held the position since.

Successor Zheng Weixin

Zheng Weixin, who is about to take over HANG SENG BANK, also has a notable background. Zheng Weixin is currently the vice chairman and CEO of Wing Tai Properties Limited, aged 69.

His resume shows that Zheng Weixin holds a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from Cornell University, as well as a bachelor's degree in law and a master's degree in literature from the University of Oxford.

He has held important positions at Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf Holdings, and has served as a director at Wharf Holdings, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), and HSBC Hong Kong.

Zheng Weixin comes from a wealthy family. His father, Zheng Yixiong, founded Wing Tai Group in Hong Kong, China, in its early years. He started a denim production business, which quickly became a leader in the textile and garment industry.

In 1963, Zheng Yixiong established Wing Tai Garment Factory in Singapore, which became one of Singapore's leading ready-made garment manufacturers in the 1970s and 1980s. Subsequently, Wing Tai developed into a diversified group, with businesses covering real estate development, investment, apparel retail, and services.

The Zheng Yixiong family's Wing Tai Properties is an international real estate developer and hotel operator. Currently, Wing Tai Properties owns two real estate brands, namely Wing Tai Asia and Lanson Place, with developed properties including W Square in Wan Chai and the Eaton Luxe in Causeway Bay.

Additionally, Zheng Weixin's brother, Zheng Weijian, is the late shipping magnate and Hong Kong tycoon Pao Yu-Kong's former son-in-law, possessing considerable personal financial and business experience.

(Zheng Weixin is fifth from the left)

Smooth Transition Expected

According to HANG SENG BANK's announcement, Zheng Weixin, the current vice chairman and CEO of Wing Tai Properties Limited, has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of the bank, with the appointment effective from April 1, 2025. Zheng Weixin will also serve as a member of the bank's Nomination Committee, Audit Committee, Risk Committee, and Remuneration Committee. After the bank's 2025 annual general meeting, Zheng Weixin will be transferred to become the chairman and chairman of the Nomination Committee, officially taking over.

According to HANG SENG BANK's performance report for 2024 released on the same day, the bank's performance in 2024 was good, with operating profit increasing by 8% year-on-year, reaching HKD 21.558 billion. Non-interest income saw a significant increase of 26%, thanks to the bank's active expansion of diversified income sources and the broadening of its target customer base In addition, the bank has made significant progress in wealth management, with the number of newly acquired affluent clients rising by 75%. At the same time, due to the bank's active development of cross-border businesses such as integrated banking and wealth management, the number of new accounts opened by retail customers in the mainland increased by 81% year-on-year.

Clearly, HANG SENG BANK, under the leadership of Eddie Wu, has a solid financial foundation and business starting point.

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