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Beike names CEO Peng Yongdong as new chairman following Zuo Hui’s death

  • Peng, 41, to take over New York Stock Exchange-listed company, according to a statement filed with US regulators
  • Company executives, stakeholders agree to not dispose of any ordinary shares or American depositary shares that they currently hold for 365 days

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Peng, 41, has an estimated net worth of US$1.8 billion and ranked 221st in the list of China’s wealthiest, according to Forbes. Photo: Handout
Cheryl Arcibal
Peng Yongdong, the co-founder, chief executive and executive director of Beike Zhaofang, which is also known as KE Holdings, has been appointed as the company’s new chairman following the death last week of Zuo Hui, the company’s founder.
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Peng, 41, will take over the reins of Beike, China’s largest online real estate listings and transactions platform, according to a statement filed with US regulators. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

“I hope all of us could carry Mr Zuo’s belief of ‘doing the right thing even if it’s difficult’ and move forward on the long journey ahead of us in the housing transactions and services industry,” Peng said on Monday. “We are confident that, with the support and trust of our customers, employees, shareholders and business partners, our management team will collectively and unswervingly strive to accomplish Mr Zuo’s wish as well as our mission of ‘admirable service, joyful living’,” he added.

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Zuo died at the age of 50 following “an unexpected worsening of [his] illness”. He has been named Beike’s chairman emeritus.

Beike’s financial backers include some of the most high-profile private equity and venture capital investors in Asia, including Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group, Hillhouse Capital Group and Tencent Holdings (shown). Photo: AFP
Beike’s financial backers include some of the most high-profile private equity and venture capital investors in Asia, including Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group, Hillhouse Capital Group and Tencent Holdings (shown). Photo: AFP
Zuo launched Beike, which means seashell in Chinese, in 2018. The platform allowed Lianjia and other major agencies, including Century 21 China Real Estate and Zhonghuan Real Estate, to sell residential property online. It later expanded to become one of China’s largest offline property brokerages, earning revenue primarily from listing fees.
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