The largest individual donation in the real estate industry in nearly four years

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Huang Yu

In the four years since the Chinese real estate industry entered a deep transformation period, real estate tycoons have gradually faded from the Chinese charity list. A notice from KE has broken this trend.

On the evening of April 17, KE announced that its chairman of the board, CEO, and controlling shareholder Peng Yongdong intends to donate 9 million shares of Class A common stock. After fulfilling the corresponding tax obligations, the funds will be used for the medical and health benefits of service providers in the housing industry and their family members, as well as rental assistance for tenant groups such as recent graduates, with each accounting for 50%.

Based on KE's closing price of HKD 51.95 per share on April 17, this donation has a pre-tax value of approximately HKD 468 million. Even during the golden period of the real estate industry, the amount of this donation ranks among the top.

Industry insiders believe that this donation will benefit the housing industry while also dispelling external misunderstandings about "astronomical annual salaries."

Currently, Peng Yongdong holds 5.04% of KE's issued shares. Due to the special voting rights design of KE, after the donation begins to be implemented, Peng Yongdong will still be able to maintain control over KE due to his status as a super voting rights holder.

An international investment bank executive told Wall Street Insight that the dual-class share structure adopted by KE is very common among innovative enterprises. It differs from the traditional "one share, one vote" arrangement, allowing one share to represent multiple voting rights, enabling innovative enterprises to maximize decision-making power during the financing process.

Even the capital market's acceptance of this special structure took some time. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange once missed the opportunity to list Alibaba in 2013 due to its refusal to accept dual-class share structures. Former Hong Kong Stock Exchange CEO Li Xiaojia regarded this as one of the most unforgettable challenges during his tenure.

According to Hong Kong Stock Exchange regulations, companies with a "dual-class share" structure must ensure that the economic interests corresponding to the shares held by super voting rights holders account for no less than 10%. Before listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Peng Yongdong, as a super voting rights holder, had relatively low equity. Data shows that as of February 28, 2021, Peng Yongdong held 3.1% of KE's equity and had 9.5% of the voting rights, while the two trust funds of the Liu Huai family held 64.4% of the voting rights.

To meet the listing requirements of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, KE granted Peng Yongdong restricted stock. Financial reports show that by the end of 2024, Peng Yongdong will hold approximately 81.48 million shares of Class A common stock and 100.46 million shares of Class B common stock, holding 5.04% of KE's issued shares and possessing 22.1% of the voting rights.

However, restricted stock is accounted for using the "straight-line amortization method," which results in a significant amount in the "equity compensation" line item for Peng Yongdong each year after receiving the restricted stock.

This is reflected in the financial report, where Peng Yongdong's annual salary increased from RMB 8.478 million in 2021 to RMB 475 million in 2022, RMB 713 million in 2023, and approximately RMB 400 million in 2024. However, a closer look at the financial report reveals that in Peng Yongdong's 2024 "annual salary," the stock-based compensation expense is approximately RMB 389 million In other words, Peng Yongdong's annual "salary" of hundreds of millions is not the actual cash income he receives, but rather an accounting treatment under accounting rules.

With this donation, Peng Yongdong has transformed equity incentives into industry support funds in a philanthropic manner while maintaining control over KE.

In 2024, KE's net revenue is expected to grow by 20.2% year-on-year to 93.5 billion yuan. Among them, rental business revenue is expected to grow by 135% year-on-year to 14.3 billion yuan, and home decoration and furniture revenue is expected to grow by 36% to 14.8 billion yuan, becoming the second growth curve.

Peng Yongdong's donation is aimed at giving back to the service provider ecosystem, solidifying the foundation of "integration" while expanding the "rental" wings through tenant assistance.

By transforming equity incentives into industry philanthropy, KE aims to build a more sustainable value distribution system.

This may be the best inheritance of Zuo Hui's legacy by KE. As the industry shifts from scale expansion to quality competition, the core competitiveness of enterprises is no longer GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume), but whether participants can share in the development dividends. Peng Yongdong is providing his answer