Real estate developer Evergrande propose to rename as business expansion

Evergrande Real Estate Group Limited, China's property developer listed in Hong Kong, proposed to change its name to "China Evergrande Group" in an announcement released last night. The change is attributable to the company's expanding scope of business.

Although the company's core business remains property development, the board of directors thinks that the new name "will better reflect the diversified business strategy and corporate identity of the company," since it has been in recent years diversifying its business. Evergrande has marched into markets such as finance, internet, health, culture, and tourism.

The rights of the shareholders will not be affected by the change, said the directors, and the public will be informed of the change, if any, in the stock short name for trading purposes.

Last year, Evergrande's annual sales revenue exceeded 201.34 billion yuan ($30.8 billion), a record since the listing in 2009, and witnessed the largest growth rate (53.1%) nationwide.

The company began to explore new business possibilities beyond property development as early as 2010, when it invested 100 million renminbi ($15.31 million) in the soccer industry. That year, the company's revenue increased seven times as much as that of the previous year.

In addition, the company launched an online financing service platform two months ago, and published three series of short-term financial products. The platform encompasses insurance, factoring business, financial management, and internet payment.

The proposed name is yet to gain approval until June 16. The announcement indicates it needs to be approved by the shareholders at the company's annual general meeting, and also by the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands, where the company was incorporated.

The expected final dividend payment date has been changed from 4 July 2016 to 8 July 2016.