--- title: "Fang Hongbo: chairman and president of Midea Group" language: en canonical: https://dossiertwist.com/dossiers/midea/fang-hongbo/ as_of: 2026-10-02 keywords: ["Midea Group","美的集团","He Xiangjian","Midea Holding","Fang Hongbo","KUKA","Midea Real Estate","Guangdong Midea Electric","GD Midea Air-Conditioning Equipment","Annto","Hiconics","CLOU Electronics","Wandong Medical","Teka Industrial","Arbonia Climate","Midea America","H-share listing","related-party transactions","Whirlpool ITC investigation","Orient Household Appliances"] --- # Fang Hongbo: chairman and president of Midea Group - Also known as: 方洪波 **Question.** What posts does Fang Hongbo hold at Midea Group, what does he own, and what does the record show about him? **Answer.** Fang Hongbo joined Midea in November 1992 and has been chairman of the board and president (chief executive officer) of Midea Group since August 2012, a combination of roles that Midea discloses as a deviation from the Hong Kong Corporate Governance Code. He is the company's legal representative, held 1.54% of its shares at 30 June 2026 and received pre-tax remuneration of RMB 12.67 million from the company for 2025. In 2019 he received a warning letter from the CSRC Guangdong Regulatory Bureau, which the company's PRC legal adviser describes as a non-punitive regulatory measure. ## Posts at Midea - Analysis: Midea's H-share prospectus describes Fang Hongbo as director, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, responsible for overall strategic planning, business development and management, and chairman of the Strategy Committee. He joined the group in November 1992 and was general manager of the air-conditioning division, president of the refrigeration and electrical appliances group, and chairman and chief executive officer of Midea Electric; he has been a director since August 2012. The 2025 annual report shows him as chairman and president since 25 August 2012 with a term to 1 July 2027, and the 2026 interim report names him as the company's legal representative. [src-d014] [src-d012] [src-d021] [src-d072] [src-d155] [src-d010] - Analysis: Because Fang performs both roles, Midea discloses a deviation from code provision A.2.1 of the Hong Kong Corporate Governance Code, which provides for a separate chairman and chief executive; the board states that combining them ensures consistent leadership and more effective strategic planning without impairing the balance of power, and that it will consider splitting the roles when appropriate. Registry data shown by a commercial data service list him as chairman of Guangdong Midea HVAC Equipment, without appointment dates, and an online encyclopedia entry states that he was legal representative of Midea Zhilian (Shanghai) from its incorporation in September 2020 until January 2021. [src-d004] [src-d014] [src-d388] [src-d486] [src-d267] [src-d478] - Attributed: Registry data shown by a commercial company-data service record Guangdong Midea HVAC Equipment as an active limited company established on 25 September 2005, with unified social credit code 914406067811533917, registered and paid-in capital of RMB 500 million and former names 佛山市美的中央空调设备安装工程有限公司 and 佛山市顺德区美的机电设备安装有限公司. The service lists Midea Group (first recorded on 20 March 2016) and Foshan Midea Air-Conditioning Industrial Investment Co., Ltd. (10.00%, first recorded on 20 March 2016) as members, Guan Jinwei as legal representative, manager and director, Fang Hongbo as chairman and Zhong Zheng as a director. An online encyclopedia entry gives the members as Midea Group (90%) and Foshan Midea Air-Conditioning Industrial Investment (10%). [src-d388] [src-d486] - Qualification: Commercial data-service and encyclopedia listings without appointment dates; the encyclopedia gives the establishment date as 26 September 2005, matching Midea's prospectus. - Attributed: Registry data shown by a commercial company-data service record Midea Zhilian (Shanghai) Supply Chain Technology Co., Ltd. (美的智联（上海）供应链科技有限公司) as an active single-shareholder limited company established on 29 September 2020, with unified social credit code 91310118MA1JNX7J15 and registered and paid-in capital of RMB 960 million, Midea Group as sole member, Xiao Mingguang as chairman, general manager and legal representative, and Zhao Wenxin and Zhong Zheng as directors. An online encyclopedia entry states that Fang Hongbo was legal representative at incorporation and that Xiao Mingguang replaced him in January 2021, when the registered capital rose from RMB 100 million to RMB 960 million. [src-d267] [src-d478] - Qualification: Data-service and encyclopedia listings; the encyclopedia gives the establishment date as 30 September 2020. ## Shareholding and pay - Analysis: Fang was one of fourteen promoters of the joint stock company in 2012, holding 3.60% of its 1,000 million shares. He held 116,990,492 shares (1.54%) at 30 June 2026, the largest holding of a natural person among the top ten shareholders. Midea's annual reports state his pre-tax remuneration from the company as RMB 12,130 thousand for 2020 and RMB 12.67 million for 2025. [src-d010] [src-d401] [src-d155] [src-d026] [src-d021] ## Warning letter and media accounts - Analysis: According to Midea's H-share listing document of 9 September 2024, Fang received a warning letter from the CSRC Guangdong Regulatory Bureau in February 2019 after inadvertently mentioning the company's estimated 2018 profit before tax at a forum before the estimate was announced. The letter itself is not in the record; its content is known only from the company's summary. The company's PRC legal adviser described it as a non-punitive regulatory measure that is neither an administrative penalty nor a public censure, and the directors stated that, because the incident preceded the track record period and Fang has had no similar incident since, it does not impugn his integrity or suitability as a director. [src-d014] - Analysis: A media report of December 2025 stated that at an analyst meeting in May 2025 Fang said six or seven people could succeed him at any time but that he could not name them; none of the filings reviewed designates a successor. A business magazine reported in March 2025 that an internal letter on simplifying working methods issued by Fang had leaked from the copy of vice president Zhao Lei, who told the magazine that he had posted a screenshot to a small group within his division and had not expected it to leak, presenting the disclosure as unintentional. [src-d030] [src-d052] [src-d021] [src-d498] [src-d155] - Attributed: A media report of December 2025 stated that at an analyst meeting in May 2025 Fang Hongbo, chairman and president of Midea Group, said that six or seven people were already able to succeed him at any time but that he could not name them and had not yet told the major shareholder. A media report of June 2024, noting that Fang had succeeded founder He Xiangjian as chairman and president in 2012, described vice president Wang Jianguo, then head of the smart home business group and international business, as considered one of the leading candidates to succeed Fang. [src-d030] [src-d052] [src-d021] - Qualification: Media accounts of a remark and of market opinion; none of the company filings reviewed designates a successor. - Outcome: Midea's 2025 annual report records Wang Jianguo as executive president from 24 September 2025, the date on which his vice-presidency ended; the report does not describe the appointment as a succession arrangement. - Attributed: A business magazine reported in March 2025 that an internal Midea letter marked 'secret', titled 'Requirements on simplifying working methods' and issued by chairman and president Fang Hongbo, circulated outside the company on 22 January 2025, and that the system watermark on the leaked copy showed vice president Zhao Lei as its recipient. [src-d498] [src-d021] [src-d155] - Qualification: Media report. The report says Zhao Lei joined Midea in 2011, whereas the prospectus and the 2025 annual report give 2018. - Response: Zhao Lei told the magazine on 13 March 2025 that he had posted a screenshot to a small group within his division and had not expected it to leak; the report presents the disclosure, on his account, as unintentional. - Outcome: The magazine report states that the leak was closed with an internal notice by Midea Group criticising Zhao Lei. Midea's 2025 annual report (March 2026) and its 2026 interim report continue to list Zhao Lei as a vice president. ## Sources - [src-d014] Midea Group H-share prospectus: Directors, supervisors and senior management, Midea Group Co., Ltd. H-share prospectus of 9 September 2024, 2024-09-09 - [src-d012] Midea Group H-share prospectus: Relationship with our largest group of shareholders, Midea Group Co., Ltd. H-share prospectus of 9 September 2024, 2024-09-09 - [src-d021] Company statement source · src-d021 - [src-d072] Midea Group poll results of the 2025 annual general meeting held on 5 June 2026, Midea Group Co., Ltd. (filed on HKEXnews), 2026-06-05 - [src-d155] Midea Group 2026 interim report, Midea Group Co., Ltd. (filed on CNINFO), 2026-08-29 - [src-d010] Articles of Association of Midea Group Co., Ltd. (approved at the second extraordinary general meeting of 2025), Midea Group Co., Ltd. (filed on HKEXnews), 2025-09-24 - [src-d004] Midea Group annual results announcement for the year ended 31 December 2025, Midea Group Co., Ltd. (filed on HKEXnews), 2026-03-30 - [src-d388] Corporate registry source · src-d388 - [src-d486] Other source · src-d486 - [src-d267] Corporate registry source · src-d267 - [src-d478] Other source · src-d478 - [src-d401] Company statement source · src-d401 - [src-d026] Company statement source · src-d026 - [src-d030] Media source · src-d030 - [src-d052] Media source · src-d052 - [src-d498] Media source · src-d498