COUNTRY GARDEN's Secret Support Helps "Emperor of Part-Time Jobs" Return

Author | Cao Anxun

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

No one expected that, a year and a half after leaving Yango, the former "working emperor" Zhu Rongbin would once again be associated with his old employer COUNTRY GARDEN.

On June 14th, COUNTRY GARDEN signed an agreement with Hopson Development Holdings, stating that when introducing external commercial agents for its development projects, Hopson Development Holdings would be given priority.

Just 22 days ago on May 24th, Zhu Rongbin joined Hopson Development Holdings as Chairman and Executive Director. Meanwhile, COUNTRY GARDEN's other former colleague Gao Bin was appointed as President and Executive Director of Hopson Development Holdings.

CG SERVICES, led by Yang Huiyan, is the second largest shareholder of Hopson Development Holdings, holding 25% of the shares, second only to the 27.92% held by the Fu Weicong family, the founder of the company.

Obviously, Yang Huiyan, who took over three months ago, is actively helping her former colleagues to return to the business map of the Yang family of COUNTRY GARDEN, and working together with them.

Zhu Rongbin has returned to the real estate industry and once again entered the public eye. As the former "working emperor" of the real estate industry, his career highlights appeared at COUNTRY GARDEN.

From 2013 to 2017, Zhu Rongbin served as Co-President of COUNTRY GARDEN, leading the company to achieve a sales scale from less than 100 billion to over 300 billion. He also formed a famous "Three Bin" combination with the then President of COUNTRY GARDEN, Mo Bin, and CFO Wu Jianbin.

He also received generous rewards. During his tenure at COUNTRY GARDEN, his annual salary once reached 21.858 million yuan, plus investment income, making him the "working emperor" of the real estate industry.

In July 2017, Zhu Rongbin resigned from COUNTRY GARDEN and joined Yango, where he was even more highly valued. Unfortunately, he soon encountered a major industry adjustment, and the company went bankrupt. He resigned and started his own business last year.

This time, facing the olive branch extended by Hopson Development Holdings and Yang Huiyan, Zhu Rongbin has once again returned to the role of a professional manager, ready to make a big impact.

In the future, Hopson Development Holdings will combine its experience in property agency business with COUNTRY GARDEN's expertise in property development to achieve comprehensive strategic integration. At the same time, it also hopes to reverse the two consecutive years of losses and improve its profitability.

For Yang Huiyan, if Hopson Development Holdings can sell the houses it represents well, COUNTRY GARDEN's development business performance will improve, and CG SERVICES will also receive more investment returns.

Zhu Rongbin and Gao Bin are expected to receive more dividends and incentives. On June 16th, Hopson Development Holdings announced that it plans to grant 67.38 million share options to 20 employees, at a price of HKD 0.01 per share. Among them, Zhu Rongbin plans to receive 30.34 million share options, nearly half of the total; Gao Bin plans to receive 11.74 million share options.

Hopson Development Holdings has given Zhu Rongbin great sincerity and authority. After joining the company, he is responsible for formulating the group's overall development strategy and business planning. With the announcement of Zhu Rongbin's appointment, the founder's family of Hopson Development Holdings has retired. Fu Weicong no longer serves as chairman of the board, and his son Fu Erlie has been transferred from executive director to non-executive director. Co-founders Fu Min and Wu Yun have resigned as executive director and non-executive director, respectively, and have left the board.

As a result, the number of professional managers in Hopson Development Holdings' board of directors has increased from five to seven.

However, Zhu Rongbin, who has returned to the role of "professional manager" again, looks familiar and unfamiliar.

What is familiar is that Zhu Rongbin is still a leader in the real estate industry; what is unfamiliar is that this "working emperor" has always been the party A, and this is the first time he has worked as the party B.

Huang Tao, general manager of the Guangdong Zhongyuan Real Estate Project Department, who has been in contact with Zhu Rongbin during his tenure at Longfor Properties, said that many people have switched from developers to agents, but there has never been such a high-level person before. This also made him very emotional, feeling a bit like a "hero in distress" and "putting down his posture".

More importantly, the current market is far from the scene of Zhu Rongbin's heyday.

Ding Zuyu, CEO of E-House China Enterprise Group, said in his New Year's speech that the industry's scale has returned to the level of 2015 in 2022, and predicted that the total demand for housing in the next ten years will fall to about 10 billion square meters per year, which means that the industry's scale will continue to decline on the basis of this year.

Huang Tao said that the market is the fundamental reason why Zhu Rongbin can do a good job as an agent. There is no denying the possibility of a counterattack, but the market is recovering relatively slowly now. In addition, factors such as team level, business model, personal ability, and industry matching all affect whether Zhu Rongbin's new business can be successful.

It is said that the times make heroes, but heroes also need to be timely. After the real estate industry entered the black iron age from the golden age, the "working emperor" had to embark on an unknown adventure.

Yan Yuejin, director of the research institute of E-House Research Institute, said, "In recent years, the deep adjustment of the real estate market will prompt professional managers of real estate development businesses to make new career plans. Zhu Rongbin may strengthen cooperation with COUNTRY GARDEN's business in the future due to his relationship with COUNTRY GARDEN."

Whether it is for the young and strong Zhu Rongbin or Yang Huiyan, who has just taken the helm of COUNTRY GARDEN this year, in the new journey of their careers, they can no longer retreat. Can the "working emperor" create brilliance again? Can COUNTRY GARDEN return to the position of a giant? The market is watching.