From Xiaomi to Kuaishou, all-male boards rule at hot Chinese companies

Warren Buffett-backed carmaker BYD, Nike-rival ANTA Sports Products and Nasdaq-listed retailer JD.com are all emblematic of the global heft of China’s companies. The Chinese giants have another thing in common: None of them have women on their boards.

 

All-male boardrooms have long been common at stodgy state-owned Chinese enterprises, but they are also a fixture in many of the nation’s entrepreneurial young companies, spanning industries like e-commerce and electric vehicles that are investor favorites. That’s left the nation with the dubious distinction of being one of the worst places for boardroom gender diversity.

 

Of the 25 largest firms on the MSCI ACWI index without any female directors last year, 14 were Chinese, according to a report published in November by MSCI. Among them were big names like search-engine operator Baidu Inc. and food-delivery company Meituan.

 

The list of Chinese firms with all-male boards also includes smartphone seller Xiaomi and viral video start-up Kuaishou Technology, which earlier this year raised $5.4 billion in the biggest technology IPO since Uber.  Investors and activists have been putting more attention on the issue, calling on the Hong Kong stock exchange to close the gap.