China's property crash sends billionaire founders heading to exits

For two years, bad news has kept piling on for Chinese property developers. 

The nation’s worsening credit crisis has led to defaults, failure to deliver homes on time and an unrelenting market selloff. Now a new phenomenon has emerged: Builders’ founders are leaving. 

Longfor Group Holdings Ltd.’s Wu Yajun resigned on Friday as executive director and chair, shortly after Soho China Ltd.’s Pan Shiyi quit in September. While Wu cited health reasons, the timing has startled analysts. 

“It’s very likely that we will see more mainland property founders leaving important roles in their firms,” said Kakei Lam, fund investment officer