Wang Qi takes office as Jincheng Commercial Bank's Secretary: An executive with multiple roles, expected to reassess value

Ask AI · How does Wang Qi’s state-owned enterprise financial experience help with Shanxi Merchants Bank’s value reappraisal?

In 2024, Wang Qi was “parachuted” into Shanxi Merchants Bank by nomination from the Shanxi provincial government, quickly landing in the core management team. He was appointed executive director and deputy president in succession.

Produced by | China Interview Net

Reviewed by | Li Xiaoyan

On March 27, Shanxi Merchants Bank (2558.HK) issued an announcement stating that Executive Director and Deputy President Wang Qi has been appointed as the company secretary of the board and joint company secretary. His appointment as company secretary is pending approval from the Shanxi Office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration. With this, the company secretary position—vacant for more than half a year—has been formally filled. This “parachute-style” executive, who has nearly two decades of finance experience at Huaneng, will take on the heavy responsibility of strengthening investor communication and driving value discovery for the company in a “three roles in one” capacity as deputy president + executive director + company secretary. Against the backdrop of Shanxi Merchants Bank’s fundamentals continuing to improve while its valuation has long remained relatively low, Wang Qi’s appointment is seen as a key step for the bank to optimize governance and activate market value.

Wang Qi’s professional track record carries a distinctly state-owned enterprise financial gene. Born in 1978, he holds a master’s degree in finance from Capital University of Economics and Business. After a brief early stint at CCB and Qilu Petrochemical, he went on to work deep within Huaneng Group’s finance system for nearly two decades. Starting out as an intern in the settlement business department, he went on to gain experience in key departments such as the general manager’s work office, the human resources department, the credit management department, and the party committee office, gradually growing into the主任 of the Huaneng Finance and Credit Business Department, accumulating deep experience in funds management, credit risk control, and comprehensive management.

In 2024, Wang Qi was “parachuted” into Shanxi Merchants Bank via nomination by the Shanxi provincial government, quickly joining the core management team, and was appointed executive director and deputy president in succession. This time, he also received the appointment as company secretary, realizing “three roles in one shoulder.” This not only reflects the board’s high recognition of his professional capabilities, but also highlights Shanxi Merchants Bank’s strategic positioning of the company secretary function—no longer merely an executor of compliance and information disclosure, but also a bridge connecting operating management and capital markets. He is expected to take on core responsibilities in market value management and investor relations maintenance.

This personnel adjustment also further完善 the bank’s management team structure. After the bank completed its leadership reshuffle last year, it formed a “one chairman + two vice presidents” setup, namely Chairman Hao Qiang + President Zhang Yunfei + two deputy presidents. Among them, Wang Qi is the only “parachute appointee,” while Hao Qiang, Zhang Yunfei, and Wang Yibin are all “veteran-level” core members who joined at the bank’s founding stage. This combination of “local deep cultivation + external empowerment” ensures continuity of the operating strategy and injects the bank with market-oriented and professional management momentum.

Worth noting is that the company secretary position at Shanxi Merchants Bank has been vacant since former company secretary Li Yanfan was transferred to become deputy mayor of Yangquan in June 2025. Li Yanfan is also a typical figure bridging finance and local governance. During his tenure, he promoted the development of business lines such as investment banking and asset custody at Shanxi Merchants Bank. With Wang Qi taking over, the market also views it as a continuation of the strategic thinking of “financial empowerment for local areas, and capital giving back to operations.”

As Shanxi Merchants Bank is the only provincial-level corporate city commercial bank in Shanxi, since its listing in Hong Kong in 2019, its operating fundamentals have continued to remain solid, and asset quality has been improving steadily, laying a solid foundation for the value reappraisal.

On the performance front, the bank has shown a trend of “steady progress.” From 2020 to 2024, operating revenue grew from RMB 4.87 billion to RMB 5.79 billion, accumulating an increase of 18.9%. Net interest income rose from RMB 3.44 billion to RMB 4.19 billion, accumulating an increase of 21.7%, becoming a core support for earnings growth. Net profit increased from RMB 1.57 billion to RMB 1.76 billion, accumulating an increase of 12.0%, highlighting stable profitability. In the first three quarters of 2025, although operating revenue year-on-year declined by 12.26%, net profit still achieved positive growth of 1.55%, demonstrating strong earnings resilience.

In terms of asset quality, risk control has achieved notable results. The non-performing loan ratio fell from 1.84% in 2020 to 1.77% at the end of the first half of 2025, a cumulative decrease of 7 basis points. The provision coverage ratio rose from more than 200% at the end of 2024 to 215%, which is higher than the industry average for city commercial banks at 186%, meaning the bank’s risk-resisting capability has continued to strengthen. In early March 2026, the bank completed the disposal of RMB 1.42B of non-performing assets, transferring it to Jinyang Asset Management for a consideration of RMB 0.31 billion, further optimizing its asset structure and creating room for credit deployment.

However, the impressive fundamentals have not been fully reflected in the capital market. As of the close on March 27, Shanxi Merchants Bank’s share price was HK$1.38 per share, corresponding to a price-to-book ratio of only 0.28x, at an extremely low level among listed Hong Kong bank stocks. The price-to-earnings ratio is approximately 4.3x, with valuation significantly below the industry average. By sharp contrast, the bank’s dividend yield is as high as 6.4%, making it highly attractive among banks listed in Hong Kong, highlighting a market mismatch of “value is undervalued while returns are overestimated.”

The market has high expectations that Wang Qi’s appointment will drive Shanxi Merchants Bank to discover value and achieve valuation repair. Its core advantages are: first, he has nearly two decades of experience in finance at a state-owned enterprise, with a deep understanding of funds management, credit risk control, and capital operations, enabling him to precisely grasp the intersection between bank operations and the capital market. Second, as a “parachute appointee” executive, he combines an external perspective with internal operating experience, which can effectively break fixed ways of thinking and strengthen investor communication. Third, in a “multi-role in one” capacity, he can directly participate in operating decisions, ensuring that investor relations management and the operating strategy are highly aligned.

Looking ahead, Wang Qi’s core mission will focus on three areas: first, strengthening information disclosure and compliance management—strictly following the Hong Kong Listing Rules, improving the timeliness, accuracy, and transparency of information disclosure, and solidifying the company’s governance foundation. Second, deepening investor relations management—proactively engaging with institutional investors at home and abroad, telling the story of Shanxi Merchants Bank’s “service to local economic development and steady business development,” and changing the market’s stereotyped impression of it as a “low P/B city commercial bank.” Third, promoting market value management and capital operations—based on the bank’s operating conditions, optimizing dividend policies, exploring channels for capital replenishment, and achieving a virtuous cycle between earnings growth and valuation improvement.

Of course, Wang Qi also faces multiple challenges. On one hand, the “Matthew effect” in the Hong Kong stock market is significant, and valuations for small and medium-sized banks generally face pressure. Breaking out of the low-valuation predicament requires long-term, systematic efforts. On the other hand, Shanxi Merchants Bank still faces issues such as rising non-performing loan ratios in personal loans and pressure on revenue growth. In the first half of 2025, the non-performing loan ratio for personal loans rose to 2.71%, making it a key area for asset quality management and control. In addition, how to balance coordination between the “parachute appointee” and local management layers to ensure consistency in executing the strategy is also a problem he needs to address.

Wang Qi’s appointment as company secretary at Shanxi Merchants Bank is an important measure to optimize the bank’s management team structure and strengthen its connection with the capital market. With stable fundamentals, continued improvement in asset quality, and an extremely attractive dividend yield, Shanxi Merchants Bank’s value has been significantly undervalued by the market. With Wang Qi’s extensive finance and management experience, along with his strategic positioning of taking on multiple roles, the bank is expected to gradually break through the valuation dilemma and achieve simultaneous improvement in operating performance and capital market value.

For Shanxi Merchants Bank, this personnel change is only the starting point for the value reappraisal. In the future, as asset quality continues to improve, operating efficiency keeps getting better, and investor communication continues to deepen—combined with the dividend from the recovery of Shanxi’s local economy—the long-term investment value of this provincial-level corporate city commercial bank is expected to be increasingly recognized by the market. Whether Wang Qi can live up to expectations and become a key figure in driving Shanxi Merchants Bank’s value discovery will also be a focus of market attention.

Personal opinion, for reference only