(Yicai Global) June 15 -- Shares of Haichang Ocean Park Holdings rose after the Chinese theme park operator said it has appointed a former chief executive of Disneyland Hong Kong as its Asia-Pacific president.

Haichang [HKG: 2255] closed 3.1 percent up at HKD7.42 (95 US cents) today, giving it a market capitalization of about HKD30.1 billion (USD3.83 billion).

Jin Minhao, 59, who worked at Disneyland Hong Kong from August 2008 to March 2016, will be responsible for developing Haichang’s business in the Asia-Pacific region outside of China as well as operations, management, and intellectual property business, the Shanghai-based company said in a statement yesterday.

After leaving Disneyland, Jin joined Chinese commercial real estate giant Wanda Group as president of its theme park and entertainment business until January 2019. He also spent a number of years at beverage giant Coca-Cola.

During his tenure at Disneyland, the Hong Kong resort had its first profit in the eight years since opening in fiscal 2012 and remained profitable for three years in a row, with net profit hitting a record high HKD332 million (USD42.3 million) in fiscal 2014. Those were its only profitable years.

Founded in 2002, Haichang Ocean Park mainly runs theme parks and other commercial properties. It has 10 parks in China, located in Shanghai, Sanya, Dalian, Qingdao, Chongqing, Chengdu, Tianjin, Wuhan, and Yantai, which welcome more than 20 million visits a year, according to its website.

The Dalian-based company reported net profit of CNY845 million (USD125.3 million) and revenue of CNY2.5 billion (USD370 million) for last year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione