Vanke Chairman's Latest Statement

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

A heavy third-quarter report made the first extraordinary general meeting of Vanke's shareholders held on November 20th somewhat solemn.

Just half a month ago, Vanke disclosed data showing that the company's net loss attributable to shareholders in the third quarter exceeded 16 billion yuan. This former industry leader is currently experiencing the harshest winter since its inception.

Huang Liping, who has recently taken office as Vanke's chairman, did not shy away from the severe situation the company is facing. He candidly told the shareholders that the company is in a "pain period of digesting the past 'three high' burdens," and that operating performance will continue to be under pressure.

Even with the full support of the major shareholder, Shenzhen Metro Group, Vanke's management still admitted, "The operational pressure has not been effectively alleviated, and difficulties are objectively present."

At this moment, when pressure must be faced, Huang Liping expressed hope that all parties maintain firm confidence and sufficient patience. He emphasized the need to gather the wisdom and strength of everyone, to work together to respond, and as the major shareholder, Shenzhen Metro will work tirelessly with all parties to help Vanke orderly resolve risks and overcome difficulties.

This patience is not only for Vanke but also for the entire industry that is in an adjustment cycle. Although Vanke's Executive Vice President Yu Liang, sitting next to him, provided a judgment that there is hope to emerge from the adjustment cycle, he also cautiously defined it as a gradual process.

For Vanke at present, although the major shareholder has made efforts to provide liquidity support, whether it can truly overcome the difficulties ultimately depends on how all parties support each other and how Vanke itself can break through under pressure.

The focus of this extraordinary general meeting was on the proposal to apply for shareholder authorization to complete asset pledge procedures.

According to statistics, since the beginning of this year, Shenzhen Metro Group has cumulatively provided approximately 30.8 billion yuan in shareholder loans to Vanke. In the face of Vanke's funding pressure during the peak debt repayment period, Shenzhen Metro has shown decisiveness and efficiency— to avoid the lengthy approval process of the shareholders' meeting delaying the opportunity, Shenzhen Metro provided part of the funds in advance before the relevant procedures were completed, ensuring Vanke's liquidity safety.

But it should also be noted that even the support from the major shareholder must be based on strict principles of "marketization and rule of law."

As the largest shareholder, Shenzhen Metro understands that Vanke cannot afford any losses. For Vanke, pledging assets is a necessary guarantee to obtain this "lifeline." Fortunately, the major shareholder has shown great sincerity in its support—the loan terms and interest rates are better than those obtained by Vanke from financial institutions.

In the current environment where financing channels are generally tightening and funding costs are high, these low-cost, long-term funds have helped Vanke gain much time and space this year. However, Vanke itself still needs to answer the question of "how to restore its blood production."

The old "rules of the game" are no longer effective; relying on high leverage and high turnover is a thing of the past. In this new game, how Vanke can reshape its coordinates in the future market is crucial.

Huang Liping clarified the future strategic direction at the meeting, which is to adhere to strategic focus and implement the requirement of "promoting high-quality development of the real estate industry." This strategy resonates with Yu Liang's judgment on the macro trends. Yu Liang pointed out that the "14th Five-Year Plan" clearly proposes optimizing the supply of affordable housing and increasing the supply of improved housing based on city-specific policies, which means that the industry will build a multi-level housing supply system in the future, creating more effective demand. He believes that "good houses and good services" will be the cornerstone of future industry competitiveness and the foundation for fulfilling the mission of ensuring and improving people's livelihoods.

Vanke has not stopped at slogans but has delivered solid business results. From January to October, Vanke achieved sales of 115.28 billion yuan. In specific business scenarios, Vanke demonstrated the resilience of its product strength: the "Ideal Land" project in Shanghai was selected as one of the first good community cases by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, while the "Gaofuyun Jing" project in Shanghai set a record for single-day sales in recent years. These data prove that even during market adjustments, high-quality products still have the ability to transcend cycles; what the market lacks is not houses, but "good houses."

At the same time, the operation service business is becoming a new source of growth for Vanke. Data shows that the overall revenue of Wanwu Cloud increased by 3% year-on-year, and its innovative flexible pricing model has gained market recognition; the occupancy rate of long-term rental apartments exceeded 94%, and the proportion of long-term lease customers has significantly increased; the proportion of strategic customers in the logistics business is also continuously optimizing.

To adapt to the new market environment, Vanke has also undergone organizational changes this year. Vanke's Executive Vice President Li Feng revealed at the meeting that the company is improving operational efficiency through organizational restructuring, compressing the management levels from the previous "three and a half levels" to "two levels." This not only shortens the management chain and strengthens headquarters functions but also enhances decision-making efficiency.

Huang Liping summarized this as adhering to standardized operations, aiming to build a mechanism that is "governance-standardized, internal control-effective, and transparent," balancing strengthened control with maintaining vitality.

At the same time, in the face of objectively existing operational pressures, Vanke is improving cash flow through more proactive capital operations. The management has clearly stated that it will further divest some businesses and assets that are not highly related to the company's strategy to improve cash flow and asset-liability structure.

In terms of existing resources, Vanke is orderly promoting resource revitalization through policy support, using methods such as "acquisition-adjustment-supply," indicator optimization, and resource replacement. In just the first ten months, it added 22.8 billion yuan in saleable value. This ability to "dig new mines from old assets" is Vanke's core competitiveness in the era of stock resources.

In addition, Vanke emphasized the importance of "technology empowerment," proposing the application of new-generation information technology and green low-carbon technology to create competitive products and services, and collaborating with partners to promote the large-scale application of new scenarios.

The journey through the storm is indeed long. As the management candidly stated at the meeting, "operational pressure has not yet effectively eased, and difficulties are objectively present."

During this unavoidable "pain period," the full support of major shareholders has bought Vanke a valuable time window. However, whether it can truly emerge from winter ultimately depends on the joint efforts of multiple parties and Vanke itself.

Yu Liang's prediction of "gradually emerging from the adjustment cycle" is a slow and difficult uphill process. Obtaining the ticket to the future is just the beginning of a new game The road ahead is still foggy, and Vanke still needs to keep moving forward