The 2018 Year-end Summary Meeting of Chinese private conglomerate Sanpower Group was convened on January 25, 2019 in Nanjing, capital city of eastern China’s Jiangsu province where the company is headquartered.

 

At the occasion, Mr. Yuan Yafei, Chairman of Sanpower Group, conveyed his gratefulness to the country’s continued Reform and Opening Up efforts, as well as the generous assistance of the Party and State at all levels.

 

Mr. Yuan made the remarks as he encouraged Sanpower staff to overcome adversities and stand up on their feet in the year 2019.

 

 

“Braving through a marathon with a bun”

 

As economic growth in China fell to a three-decade low in 2018, private industries in numerous sectors took a severe blow. For Sanpower, it was a year of both unprecedented challenges and tremendous hope.

 

Madame Yang Huaizhen, the group CEO, said in the face of troubles rarely before seen, the company began to actively readjust and restructure in search of solutions.

 

“The group’s overall strategy was not affected to a significant degree because of the crisis. From a different standpoint, the crisis objectively presented us with an opportunity and determination to lift ourselves from the burden of certain poor-performing assets. At the same time, it compelled us to firmly implement our strategy at the beginning of the year, which was to cede more power to our industrial sectors, and provide service and create synergy through improved operation,” Madame Yang said as part of the 2018 Work Report she delivered to an audience in the number of hundreds at Sanpower Headquarters.

 

Sanpower staff fully exhibited the spirit of “braving through a marathon with a bun” and helped stabilize the situation in the face of arduous difficulties, she said, adding that the focus of year 2019 would be to resume normal operations, concentrate on the health sector, further improve day-to-day operations and corporate efficiency.

 

Corporate representatives from Natali of Israel and Hisap shared their respective experiences in the year 2018. Natali, Israel’s largest private healthcare provider, met all primary operational targets, saw the further increase of paid subscribers and began to step into other global markets. Hisap, meanwhile, witnessed phenomenal growth in sales per capita and profits.

 

“Challenges for the strong ones are actually opportunities. If you work it right you can take this to your benefit,” said Mr. Nimrod Altman, CEO of Natali. He added that Sanpower Group is such a strong one, and that by working together and believing in ourselves, 2019 would be a year of great opportunity.

 

For Mr. Yang Fan, CEO of Hisap, 2018 marked a year of vigorous reform. Hisap concentrated its efforts on sales in the first half of the year and actively sought to readjust itself in the second half, with a focus on adjusting structures, reducing cost, improving efficiency and contributing to profit.

 

Following Mr. Altman and Mr. Yang’s remarks, Mr. Yuan, Group Chairman, signed annual responsibility certificates with the respective executives in charge of Sanpower’s five operating platforms.

 

 

“In chaos, the outstanding ones stand out”

 

Various subsidiaries, teams and individuals were commended at the occasion.

 

The group’s legal affairs center was rewarded for its excellence exhibited especially during the latter part of 2018, when it strived to win opportunities to safeguard corporate interests. “Spring is coming… in nature, you wait for spring to come. But our spring is something every member of Sanpower worked hard to get,” Mr. Li Shengming, group vice president and general manager of legal affairs, said in his speech.

 

In 2018, Sanpower Group’s Hospital Construction Company witnessed adversities ranging from the halting of construction of its new Xuzhou hospital to insufficient funds. Despite these challenges, the company stayed together and worked on ways to secure construction development to the best of its ability. Mr. Liu Jianping, CEO of the company, was commended for his administration in the endeavor.

 

The Yuan Yafei Prize of the year went to Mr. Hong Gaolong, head of policy research unit at the Office of the Chairman. Mr. Hong has served at Sanpower for more than a decade and plays an integral role in drafting and revising group-level documentation and reports. “I don’t think the prize is to commend the work on text per se; rather, it should belong to the totality of work of the entire group over the past year, and to all the staff at Sanpower who have stayed on thus far,” Mr. Hong said.

 

 

“Never forget why we started, and stay prepared to start again”

 

In the opening of his remarks, Mr. Yuan, group chairman, said he is grateful for China’s Reform and Opening Up when he started the business in 1993, and that he is grateful to the Party and State for the assistance that were provided to Sanpower. “

 

“The Sanpower today won’t be possible without Reform and Opening Up, and we won’t have a tomorrow without the concern and care of the Party and State,” Mr. Yuan said.

 

Attributing the issues faced by Sanpower to both external and internal reasons, Mr. Yuan said: “It’d be lying to say there isn’t any difficulty. But in the face of so much hardship, we’re still here today, alive, struggling and hoping,” he said, stressing that all employees are to actively seek solutions in the midst of difficulties.

 

Citing Charles Dickens’ famous opening words in A Tale of Two Cities, Mr. Yuan said it is indeed the best of times and the worst of times. According to him, by restructuring and focusing on the health sector, Sanpower will aim at improving management and operations and reducing debt and losses in the year 2019.

 

In so doing, all members of Sanpower should never forget why we started, and stay prepared to start again, Mr. Yuan said.

 

The meeting was presided over by Mr. Yue Lei, acting CEO of the group.