China’s Jiangxi Copper names industry outsider as new general manager

Jiangxi Copper Co, one of China’s top copper producers, on Friday named provincial government official Zheng Gaoqing as its new general manager.

The appointment, confirmed at a board meeting during the day, marks the end of a six-month void in Jiangxi Copper’s management team following the departure of company veteran Wu Yuneng in July last year.

Zheng, in his early 50s, joins Jiangxi Copper from the Jiangxi province branch of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac), where he served as a deputy director, according to a company filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

A brief profile for Zheng provided in the filing listed previous chairman and general manager roles at two electronics firms in Jiangxi but no prior experience in metals.

A company spokeswoman stressed that while Zheng may be new to the copper industry, he has a lot of management experience.

As with all state-run enterprises in China, the general manager role is the No. 2 position in Jiangxi Copper, behind chairman Long Ziping.

(Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Rashmi Aich)