CapitaLand and its long-time head of IR, Harold Woo, have been regular features of the IR Magazine Awards for many years now. But that all changed in 2015 when Woo moved to take up a new role at CapitaLand and was succeeded as IR head by Rui Hua Chang. Chang had earlier spent 11 years in the financial sector, including eight as an investment banker with DBS Bank and China International Capital Corporation.
When group CFO Arthur Lang asked her to join CapitaLand, ‘I knew it would be the right fit for me,’ she says. ‘At that time, I was looking to deepen my experience in the real estate sector and I was certain that CapitaLand, as one of the largest real estate players in Asia, would provide the scope for my professional development.’
So she joined the group CFO’s office in 2013, mostly looking at corporate finance projects and supporting the IR department. ‘For the key projects I worked on, such as the sale of Australand and privatization of CapitaMalls Asia, I was in charge of covering the IR part of the deals,’ she recalls.
‘We had to communicate with the top 30 institutional investors as well as retail investors about the deals’ highlights and rationales, and how they were part of the overall CapitaLand strategy. It wasn’t something that could be completed overnight: it took some time and patience to explain our strategy to investors thoroughly so they could fully appreciate what we were doing.’
Since taking over the leadership of the department, Chang has added one member of staff and introduced a few new initiatives. ‘For example, I initiated a monthly meeting with the IR officers of CapitaLand’s real estate investment trusts, to increase the level of continual communication with them,’ she says.
Chang also plans for senior management and the IR team to touch base with each of CapitaLand’s top 30 investors at least once a year. ‘By doing this, we are able to engage them and address any concerns they may have in a timely manner,’ she explains.
This profile first appeared in the IR Magazine Investor Perception Study – Asia 2015/2016, which is available to professional subscribers to IR Magazine.
