By Clarence Leong


Shares of Chinese developer Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. stumbled in early Monday trade following founder Wu Yajun's resignation as chairperson.

Longfor's Hong Kong-listed stock plunged as much as 45% to 7.26 Hong Kong dollars (US$0.92) before paring losses slightly. Shares were recently 24% lower at HK$10.00, down 73% this year. Closing at this level would mark the stock's worst one-day percentage slump since its 2009 listing.

Other Chinese property developers also weakened amid a prolonged downturn in the sector. China Vanke Co.'s Hong Kong-listed stock slid 8.3% after third-quarter net profit fell 14% from a year earlier, slowing from the 11% rise in the first half.

The Hang Seng Mainland Properties index declined 6.3%, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 0.9%.

Longfor said in a late Friday filing that Ms. Wu resigned as chairperson and executive director due to "age and health reasons" but will continue to provide guidance to the company in her newly appointed role as "strategic development consultant."

Following the resignation, the private developer appointed Chief Executive Chen Xuping as chairperson. Longfor said it is aware of the listing rule that the roles of CEO and chairman shouldn't be performed by the same person, but that it believes this arrangement "helps to facilitate the execution of the Group's business strategies and maximize the effectiveness of its operation."

The board will "review this structure from time to time and will consider the segregation of the two roles as and when appropriate," Longfor added.

Citi analyst Griffin Chan said in a note that the reshuffle marks a "transformation from entrepreneurial firm into professional management." The analyst also cited Ms. Wu's comments from an analyst meeting on Sunday that she viewed the current timing as better than the start of the year, given third-quarter sales growth has turned positive.

Longfor's contracted sales value for the third quarter rose 0.8% from a year earlier to 59.8 billion yuan (US$8.25 billion), it said over the weekend.


Write to Clarence Leong at clarence.leong@wsj.com


Corrections & Amplifications

This item was corrected at 0340 GMT to reflect China Vanke Co.'s third-quarter net profit fell 14% from a year earlier. The original version incorrectly said the company's third-quarter profit rose 2.2% in the third paragraph.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-30-22 2315ET