chairman of the board of directors mr. ling was born in 1959. he holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from huazhong university of science and technology, and a master’s degree in management engineering from zhejiang university. mr. ling is a senior economist by background and, one of the main founders of gemdale. mr. ling also serves as vice chairman of the china real estate association.
becoming the most valuable
international company in china
as an esteemed listed real estate company, while earning profits is a key goal, it is not our only goal. we also take very seriously our achievement of various corporate social responsibilities, by which we mean our responsibility to not only our shareholders but also many varied other constituencies, including, but not limited to, our customers and our employees. we also hold a keen responsibility to society and helping make the world a better place. in a competitive market environment, we believe the execution of our responsibility-based corporate philosophy not only sets us apart, but also paves the way for overcoming any challenges that may come our way. we also believe firmly in sustainability, which we endeavor to incorporate anywhere and everywhere we can throughout our business.
because of our deeply felt responsibilities, we take seriously the trust of many imparted on us which makes us understand that operating a company like ours can be analogized to humans striving for long term excellence. a deep sense of responsibility requires us to act rationally and treat people with dignity and respect, based upon the pursuit of excellence. responsibility also allows us to be true in word and resolute in deed, and not be elated by success nor deterred by any challenges that may happen to come our way.
our people are considered our most precious treasure at gemdale, and treating employees well is gemdale’s unchanging strong belief and goal. we fully understand and appreciate that employees are the first customers of the company, and treating employees well is to be kind to ourselves and to our future. i believe treating employees well is part of the improvement of the human condition, and we also value the establishment of incentive mechanisms, and the cultivation and development of talent, which is one of the most important responsibilities of each and every one of our managers. we have a culture predicated on intellectual curiosity and sharing global insights and best practices, which we believe makes us a better company. gemdale corporation recently ranked 169th in the forbes world’s best employers ranking and first in china’s real estate marketplace which is an accomplishment which i and my leadership team feel so proudly of.
we have always considered customers to be our loyal and good friends and we always endeavor to treat people with all of our constituencies with sincerity, which is fully reflected by providing what we deem our friends the highest quality goods and services. this has led to our extraordinary achievement of repeat customer sales and ownership of multiple gemdale created dwellings by many of our loyal customers. the pursuit of the maximization of customer satisfaction prompts us to strive for perfection in every detail from site selection, design, and construction to ongoing service.
shareholder capital is another solid foundation for gemdale’s development. our shareholding relationships are focused on trust and understanding, which has kept gemdale keenly focused on our industrial structure and focus in the development area, operating management and other considerations. gemdale’s steady development objectives depend on the support of shareholders, who gemdale cherishes while making good use of shareholders’ capital to live up to their support as we seek to provide stable and long-term returns to our shareholders.
all enterprises, are members of society and, we, accordingly, have the responsibility to share our profits with society. over the years, gemdale has actively participated in philanthropic activities and have made significant contributions to society. gemdale remains committed to our responsibilities to give back in numerous ways, today and going forward.
we have made the global sport of tennis and associated philanthropies essential elements of gemdale’s ‘dna’ for the game of tennis, similar to our own gemdale core goals, allowing individuals from all walks of life the opportunity to excel. gemdale was proud to have helped orchestrate bringing in our headquarters city of shenzhen the wta finals for the next ten years, an extraordinary achievement we take very seriously and we are so proud of our host and headquarters city of shenzhen, which is increasingly recognized as one of the world’s leading and most exciting cities.
in the next three to five years, we intend to strengthen cooperation with other excellent enterprises, strive for an overseas listing, and speed up the progress of development in different carefully selected parts of the world. by 2020, we will strive for an annual construction area of 5 million square meters, an annual sales area of 2.5 million square meters, and annual sales of cny 15 billion, with total assets of cny 26 billion. furthermore, we intend to maintain the synchronous expansion of competitiveness, scale and geography, ranking among the strongest real estate enterprises in china.
