founder Cheah to exit after GF Securities purchase, source says

Value Partners

02/09/2024 06:01

By Selena  Li
       HONG KONG, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The co-founder of asset
manager Value Partners Group  0806.HK  is set to quit the firm
in the biggest shakeup since China's GF Securities  000776.SZ 
became its largest shareholder, said a source with direct
knowledge of the matter.
    Cheah Cheng Hye, a co-founder, co-chairman and co-chief
investment officer, plans to exit Hong Kong-based Value Partners
as soon as January, the source said, adding Louis So, the other
co-chief investment officer and a former co-chairman, will leave
by the end of this year.
    So has started offloading his stake in the company,
according to the source, who was not authorised to speak with
media. So held at least a 2.65% stake of the firm's public
shares by end-June, according to its interim report.
    Cheah will continue to serve as co-chairman and co-chief
investment officer, while So is currently the company's
executive director and co-chief investment officer, a Value
Partners spokesperson said in an emailed statement that did not
comment on whether they planned to depart in coming months. 
    GF, Cheah and So did not immediately respond to Reuters'
requests for comment. Bloomberg reported Cheah and So's planned
departure earlier on Monday. 
    Chinese brokerage GF Securities acquired a 20.2% stake in
Value Partners in June 2023 and has since been exerting its
influence on the firm's operations, according to the source.
   On Aug. 23, Value Partners replaced So as co-chair with Ling
Xianghong and added Li Qian to the board. Ling and Li are senior
managers at GF, according to a stock exchange filing.
    Value Partners, founded in 1993 as a China investing
specialist, has suffered from tumbling Chinese markets in recent
years. 
    The Hong Kong firm, which has offices across Asia and
Europe, managed $5.4 billion of assets as of end-June, down from
its peak of more than $18 billion in 2018.
    It cut about one-third of its staff in mainland China as it
looked to restructure the business to boost profit amid weaker
market conditions, Reuters reported in April. 
    GF is the latest Chinese securities firm to tighten control
at its Hong Kong business, following similar moves by Citic
Securities  600030.SS  and Haitong Securities  600837.SS  over
the last two years. 

 (Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((Selena.Li@thomsonreuters.com; +852 39525868;))