(Yicai) Feb. 19 -- Gree Group, an investment arm of Zhuhai's local government, has changed its chairman to Kang Hong, former deputy secretary-general of the municipal government. Sources familiar with the matter say the move has limited impact on white goods giant Gree Electric Appliances.

Kang, 48, has replaced Zhou Lewei, who was chairman for seven years, the state-owned company announced on its website recently.

The notice sparked speculation that Dong Mingzhu, chairwoman of Gree Electric, may retire, but an industry insider told Yicai that the recent change in leadership has not affected the operation of the maker of washing machines and air conditioning units.

Dong, 70, has been at the helm of Gree Electric since 2012 as a chairwoman and president, serving the company in different roles for more than 30 years. She used to be chairwoman of Gree too but stepped down in 2016.

Gree was once the biggest shareholder of Gree Electric, but in 2019, it sold its 15 percent stake to private equity firm Hillhouse Capital, making the latter the new majority shareholder. As of Sept. 30, 2023, Gree's stake in Gree Electric had dropped to around 3.4 percent.

On Jan. 28, Dong said at a company event that Gree Electric achieved its best annual revenue ever in its 33-year history last year, and will strive to double that in the next five years.

Gree Electric’s 2023 net profit is expected to rise by 10 percent to 20 percent to a point between CNY27 billion and CNY29.3 billion (USD3.8 billion and USD4.1 billion), according to the company’s earnings forecast. Revenue could widen by 8 to 10 percent to as high as CNY210 billion (USD29.2 billion).

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine