Yan Jianguo

Yan Jianguo is a former executive director, chairman and chief executive officer of China Overseas Land & Investment Limited. He graduated in 1989 from Chongqing Institute of Architecture and Engineering (now Chongqing University) with a degree in industrial and civil construction, and obtained an MBA from Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, in 2000. During his tenure at COLI, the company’s profile stated that he had about 28 years of experience in investment and management at construction and real estate enterprises.

Yan Jianguo joined China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited (formerly China State Construction Engineering Corporation) in 1989 and was twice seconded to COLI. From 1990 to 1992, he served as a site engineer and department head, among other posts, at COLI’s Shenzhen company; during his second secondment from 2001 to 2011, he served successively as assistant general manager, deputy general manager and general manager at COLI’s regional companies in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou and elsewhere, and was later promoted to director and deputy general manager of COLI and president of its North China region. Thereafter, from 2011 to June 2014, he worked at China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited, serving as director of the general office, chief information officer and assistant president, among other posts.

In June 2014, Yan Jianguo joined Longfor, where he served as executive director and senior vice president, among other posts, leaving on 5 December 2016. From 1 January 2017 he served as executive director and chief executive officer of COLI, and from 13 June 2017 as chairman while continuing as chief executive officer. During his tenure he held several concurrent posts: vice chairman and general manager of China Overseas Holdings Limited and director of several of its subsidiaries, chairman and non-executive director of China Overseas Property Holdings Limited and China Overseas Grand Oceans Group Limited, and director of COLI subsidiaries. Under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, China Overseas Holdings Limited is a substantial shareholder of COLI.

At COLI’s results briefing on 26 March 2018, board chairman Yan Jianguo said the company’s most important task for 2018 was to grow contracted sales by at least 25%, that is, to meet a sales target of HK$290 billion (about 232.5 billion yuan). He also said he was “full of confidence” in COLI’s strategic goal of reaching annual sales of HK$400 billion by 2020. Previously, COLI’s contracted sales in 2017 were 201.4 billion yuan, up only 10.2% year on year, the slowest growth among the 17 developers with sales above 100 billion yuan.

At the 2018 interim results briefing, Yan Jianguo said that because policy was in a changeable phase, the company would remain cautious in investing in land. He said China Overseas would adjust the pace and scale of investment at any time according to the progress of cash collection and market changes, and that the past few months had been an observation period, so overall progress was slightly slower than budgeted. He said: “At this point in time, we would rather miss some opportunities than invest in the wrong plots of land.”