Giant steps down
In a karst cave in Guilin, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Shi Yuzhu opened a bottle of beer using his teeth, drank it, and poured a little onto his bare head.
"You will hardly see me in public in the future," he said to surprised reporters, who assumed it was another promotional stunt, rather than a genuine farewell by the IT tycoon.
But the 51-year-old founder of Giant Interactive Group Inc appears to be serious.
He announced on April 9 that he will resign from the position of CEO of the NYSE-listed online game company on Friday.
"I am thoroughly retired now and will leave the platform to young people. Now my major job is playing, and my side job is charity activities," Shi said on his Sina Weibo Wednesday.
Shi's resignation came after a similar move by Ma Yun, who announced in January that he would be stepping down from the position of CEO of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group on May 10, saying that he would concentrate on his work as chairman.
Shi said both he and Ma hold the idea that they are no longer young enough for the fast-developing Internet industry. But he insisted that he had decided to retire before Ma made his announcement, and his move had just been delayed by the approval process from the board.
Like Ma, Shi will continue to serve as chairman of the board and will oversee the company's strategic direction. But Shi told reporters on April 9 that his influence on the company after his resignation will be not as big as that of Ma.
"Stepping down is Shi's own choice, as he and his daughter own a majority stake in the company, and no other shareholders can force him out," Ding Daoshi, deputy managing editor of IT information website sootoo.com, told the Global Times Thursday.
Who will be the successor?
Giant Interactive said in a statement Wednesday that the new CEO will be announced on Friday. Industry analysts expect Shi's successor will be chosen from the company's senior management.
"Shi faded from the company's management and began to cultivate his successor three years ago," Xue Yongfeng, a game industry analyst at IT consultancy Analysys International, told the Global Times Thursday.
"Liu Wei, president of Giant Interactive, who focuses on the company's daily operations, and Vice President Ji Xuefeng, who specializes in product research and development, are popular candidates for the CEO position," Xue said.
"Liu is more likely to be the successor, as she has worked with Shi for a longer time than Ji, and is more familiar with the company's structure and employees," Ding said.
Both Ding and Xue believe that Shi's resignation will not affect the company's operation. Shares in Giant Interactive rose by 1.06 percent on April 9 on the New York Stock Exchange after Shi's announcement of his resignation.
"Shi's successor will face a challenge, as multiplayer online games, which Giant Interactive focuses on, are facing rising competition from mobile phone games given the fast development of the mobile Internet industry," Xue said.
In February, Giant Interactive said its fourth-quarter profit fell by 66 percent year-on-year to 82.7 million yuan ($13.4 million), partly because of hefty charges related to its investment in 51.com, a Chinese social networking website. The company hopes its newly released game World of Xianxia will help boost its revenue and profit in 2013.
Controversial business
Shi's roller-coaster business trajectory has made him a legend in China's business community.
Since starting his own business in 1989, Shi worked in the software, real estate, healthcare and online game sectors. He is known for a bold business style and unconventional marketing tactics. Some in the domestic media even call him China's Steve Jobs, referring to the former Apple Inc boss, because of his entrepreneurship.
"Shi is unlikely to start a new company in his 50s. In the future, he might focus on financial investment and participate in charity work, which could bring a positive image for his company," Xue said.
Shi's interest in finance is reflected by his investment in Minsheng Bank. He has seen the value of his stake rise by an estimated 5.4 billion yuan, with shares in the bank hitting a five-year peak on February 5.
According to Forbes magazine's latest estimate, Shi had a net worth of $2.9 billion as of March this year and he ranked 42nd in the magazine's lastest China Rich List published in October 2012.
Some expressed their regret about Shi's decision to resign.
"It is not a good phenomenon for well-known entrepreneurs such as Shi and Alibaba's Ma to retire in their 50s. In recent years, some entrepreneurs in China have emigrated and some have retired. If more entrepreneurs follow suit, it will pose a threat to the country's economy," Niu Wenwen, chief editor of monthly magazine The Founder, commented on his Weibo Wednesday.
But some have been less complementary about Shi's bold business style.
"Shi is a successful businessman, who aims to bring fortune to himself and shareholders, but there are certain moral questions about his business," Ding said.
"For instance, some said that Shi exaggerated the effects of his healthcare products, and some said he persuaded young people to spend more time and money playing online games," he noted.
According to a report on China Central Television on March 29, there have been dubious transferals of money to pay for Giant Interactive games.
Some victims found that money from their bank accounts had been transferred to accounts for the company's games, the report said.
Criminals took advantage of viruses on the victims' computers to set up these accounts, with the intention of reselling the accounts for cash, it said.
The company denied that it was involved in this scheme in a statement released the day after the report, and said it is willing to cooperate with the authorities in their investigations into the fraud.