CHINA TAIPING's "generals" have been determined, Li Keding has been promoted to General Manager

At the end of the year, following the new chairman, CHINA TAIPING (0966.HK) welcomed a new general manager at the beginning of 2025.

On January 4th, Taiping held a cadre meeting to announce that Li Kedong, the first-ranked vice president in the executive team, is set to take over as general manager, continuing to partner with the former general manager Yin Zhaojun, who has been promoted to chairman.

Once his qualifications are approved, Li Kedong will become the first general manager promoted internally since Taiping was upgraded to a vice-ministerial central enterprise in 2012.

The "Yin-Li pairing" will also mark the first completely internally selected leadership combination for Taiping in nearly 12 years.

Compared to bringing in "external brains," selecting a management team from within is more conducive to strategic stability and can reduce the adjustment period after a change; promoting from within for both the chairman and general manager somewhat demonstrates the completeness of Taiping's talent pipeline.

Li Kedong has a wealth of professional experience, having worked at two major central enterprises: Export Credit Insurance Corporation and Taiping.

At 57 years old, Li Kedong was once an "engineering student," graduating from the Department of Power Engineering at Beihang University, specializing in aircraft engines, and previously served as the director of the General Office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

In 2007, Li Kedong became the general manager of the Guangdong branch of Export Credit Insurance Corporation and later transferred to the Shanghai branch; after entering the headquarters, he held positions as general manager in the Human Resources Department, Project Insurance Management Department/National Project Division, Product Management Department, and Customer Management and Market Development Department.

He joined Taiping at the end of 2019 and has served as chairman of Taiping Technology and vice general manager of the group.

According to the official website, Li Kedong was previously the top vice general manager of Taiping, while also serving as chairman of Taiping Capital, Taiping Industrial Investment, and Taiping Financial Holdings.

In the first half of 2024, Taiping's insurance service revenue and net profit were HKD 16.4 billion and HKD 6.03 billion, respectively, with year-on-year growth rates of 3.2% and 15.4%; net investment income increased to HKD 7.5 billion, with a growth rate of 360.7%.

While performance remains stable, the company is still deepening its "internationalization restart" strategy.

In 2019, Taiping re-emphasized its internationalization strategy, proposing four stages: empowerment enhancement, steady growth, global operations, and international leadership, with the goal of building a globally competitive international modern financial insurance group by 2031-2035.

From the timeline perspective, it is currently in the "steady growth" phase.

Within 2024, Taiping has collaborated with Belgium's Fuhua Group in the field of elderly care, with two overseas institutions in Luxembourg and Dubai officially opened.

Previously, Li Kedong expressed that the insurance market in ASEAN countries has enormous development potential.

Li Kedong believes that Chinese insurance companies should accelerate their expansion into the ASEAN market, actively innovate insurance product services, participate in cross-border infrastructure construction, and promote technological capabilities and digitalization to support the economic and social stability of ASEAN countries