Country Garden shares slump after surprise resignation of CFO

Moody's outlook on the Korean banking system has been negative since May 2016.

SHANGHAI: Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co. tumbled the most in more than nine months after the “surprise” resignation of its chief financial officer.

Country Garden shares slumped as much as 6.9 percent to HK$3.92 in Hong Kong morning trading, the most since March 15, and traded 1.9 percent lower as of 10:51 a.m. Thursday. Wu Jianbin, the firm’s CFO since 2014, resigned to devote more time to personal interests, the firm said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late Wednesday.

Wu’s resignation came as “a surprise” as there were no indications from management about any potential change in senior personnel, Raymond Cheng, a property analyst at CIMB Securities Ltd., wrote in a Jan. 4 note.

Country Garden appointed Wu Bijun as his replacement effective April 1, according to the filing.

The change is a “slight negative” for the firm, given Wu’s strong credentials, Morgan Stanley Hong Kong-based analyst John Lam wrote in a note. 

Wu joined Country Garden after 13 years of management experience at rival builder China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd.- Bloomberg