HONG KONG: The co-founder of asset manager Value Partners Group is set to quit the firm in the biggest shakeup since China's GF Securities 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 and Haitong Securities over the last two years. - Reuters
