On the evening of December 18, Wanda Hotel Development (00169HK) issued an announcement announcing that the company would not be able to contact non-executive director Ben Seok Ding as of 1 September 2023 and said that from that date, Ben Seok Ding would no longer perform his duties as a non-executive director.Subsequently, on December 18, 2023, the board of directors of Wanda Hotel Development resolved to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of the company to consider the removal of Ding Benxi as a non-executive director in accordance with the company's revised rules and to elect Liu Yingwu as an executive director.
However, Wanda Hotel Development did not explain in the announcement why it did not make an announcement to the public more than 3 months after Ding Benxi lost contact, and did not clarify the reason for Ding Benxi's disappearance. As soon as the announcement came out, the outside world immediately had all kinds of speculation about Ding Benxi's whereabouts, and some people speculated whether he could not be contacted because he was involved in related issues.
A person close to Wanda said that the change of directors of Wanda Hotel is a normal change of directors after Ding Benxi's retirement. The person familiar with the matter said that the failure to contact Ding Benxi himself may be due to objective reasons such as the change of personal information, and the company has now contacted Ding Benxi.
According to public information, Ding Benxi was born in 1955 and graduated from Chinese People's University. He has served as the general manager of Hong Kong Yifeng Group Real Estate Investment Company, the general manager of Dalian Fengyuan Real Estate Company, the assistant general manager of Dalian Sino-Ocean Company, and the general manager of Wanda Commercial Management.
Since 2001, he has successively served as the general manager of Wanda Business Management and Development, and the senior vice president of Wanda Group. At Wanda Group, Ding Benxi has had a very successful career. He has extensive management experience and is well versed in business management. His leadership style is bold and clear, and he is able to respond quickly to challenges.
During his tenure as General Manager of Wanda Commercial Management, he successfully drove the company's rapid growth, achieving rapid business growth and expansion of the company's scale. His outstanding performance has also been recognized and appreciated by his superiors.
From 2009 to 2020, Ding Benxi served as the president of Dalian Wanda Group. In this role, he continues to demonstrate exceptional leadership and business acumen. He led Wanda Group to stand out in a highly competitive market, achieving sustained business growth and market share expansion.
Ding's career has been full of accolades and achievements. His success comes not only from his personal efforts and talents, but also from his deep understanding and practical experience in business management. His leadership style and business acumen have been instrumental in the growth and development of Wanda Group.
Mr. Ding Benxi has always played a pivotal role in the development of Wanda Group. As Wang Jianlin's key assistant, he played an integral role in all phases of Wanda. Especially in 2009, when Wanda Group began to fully preside over the daily work, Ding Benxi became Wang Jianlin's right-hand man.
At that time, Wanda Group was facing a serious problem: a lack of talent in the business. This problem once plagued the rapid development of the company. However, Ding Benxi is keenly aware of the crux of the matter.
He proposed a process of talent model, through a systematic and standardized way to select and cultivate talents. This move not only quickly solved the problem of Wanda's lack of talents, but also laid a solid talent foundation for the company's future development.
Ding's wisdom and vision are not only reflected in talent selection, but he is also actively involved in the company's strategic decision-making and business operations. With his deep industry experience and outstanding leadership skills, he has made significant contributions to the development of Wanda Group. His decisions and actions have undoubtedly injected a strong impetus into Wanda's future.
In 2014, Wanda promoted the listing of its two companies, Wanda Commercial and Wanda Film and Television, and set up a special internal team, headed by Ding Benxi.
In 2016, when the real estate development industry was still on the rise, Wanda began to implement de-real estate, which was also a reform led by Ding Benxi. This adjustment has capped the staffing of Wanda's commercial headquarters to no more than 300 people, and closed the three project operation centers in the northern, central and southern districts, while strictly controlling the establishment of grassroots regional companies.
During Ding's tenure as president of Wanda Group, Wanda has achieved double-digit growth in revenue and profit for many years, from a company with annual revenue of less than 40 billion yuan to a national enterprise with annual revenue of nearly 300 billion yuan.
On January 3, 2020, Ding Benxi, then 65 years old, retired from his position as president of Wanda Group and chairman of Wanda Commercial Management, and his position was replaced by Qi Jie. Qi Jie currently serves as the president of Wanda Group, the chairman and president of Wanda Commercial Management, and he is also the most trusted professional manager around Wang Jianlin after Ding Benxi's retirement.
According to the 21st Century Business Herald, Wanda Hotel Development, which broke the news of Ding Benxi's disappearance, is an asset-light company responsible for hotel business management under Wanda Group, and was listed on the backdoor in 2014. Ding Benxi also served as the chairman of the board of directors of Wanda Hotel Development for a long time. In April 2021, Ding Benxi retired as Chairman of the Company but continued to serve as a non-executive Director.
To summarize the performance, as of the first half of 2023, Wanda Hotel Development's revenue increased by 30% year-on-year5%, up to 4HK$6.4 billion;net profit attributable to the parent increased by 1197%, up to 1HK$400 million. As of December 18**, Wanda Hotel Development's market capitalization was just $11HK$9.8 billion.
Although Wanda Hotel Development did not explain in detail the reason for Ding Benxi's disappearance, the news still attracted widespread attention and speculation from the outside world. People can't help but start thinking, what happened to Ding Benxi during his disappearance?Where is he going?These questions will continue to spark interest and exploration.
For Wanda Hotel Development, timely disclosure of this information is essential to maintain the transparency and credibility of the company. It is hoped that Wanda Hotel Development can maintain good operation and management in the future development and create greater value for shareholders and investors.