On the evening of October 13, the “Obermatt CEO-of-the-Year China 2016 Award Ceremony” took place at the Swiss Embassy in China. Xu Heyi, Chairman of BAIC Group and BAIC Motor Corporation Ltd. (1958.HK), won the “Gold Award for CEO-of-the-Year China 2016″, ranking among the best business leaders in the world.

The annual CEO-of-the-Year China rankings were initiated by Switzerland’s Brainforce and Obermatt in 2013. The rankings include over 10,000 global listed companies as analytical samples.

In recent years, as a key Chinese automaker, BAIC Motor, a major subsidiary of BAIC Group, has moved forward in an accelerated manner, and “BAIC Speed” refreshing industrial records all time has been visible to all. According to the 2015 financial report of BAIC Motor, the company achieved annual sales of 1.65 million units and an annual profit of 6.3 billion yuan (about 0.94 billion USD) in 2015. In the first nine months of 2016, BAIC Motor sold a total of 1.315 million units, including 309,000 units from the own brand sector, far ahead of its peers; in the JV sector, Beijing Benz achieved record sales of 226,000 units, ranking first of growth rate among luxury brands; Beijing Hyundai sold a total of 779,000 units, over-fulfilling its target and further consolidating the fourth place in the industry.

BAIC Group led by Mr. Xu Heyi achieved a leap in the ”12th Five-year Plan”. From 2010 to 2015, the sales and operating revenues of BAIC Group soared from 1.49 million units to 2.489 million units and from 157.6 billion yuan (about 23.4 billion USD) to 345.2 billion yuan (about 51.2 billion USD), up 170 percent and 220 percent respectively. BAIC Group was ranked among Fortune Global 500 four times in the ”12th Five-year Plan”, jumping from the 336th in 2013 to the 160th in 2016.

Winning the “Gold Award for CEO-of-the-Year China 2016″ from Obermatt is of extraordinary significance to BAIC Group. It means that BAIC Group has been fully recognized by international research agencies and drawn attention from home and abroad. In the “13th Five-year Plan”, as a Chinese key automaker, through reform and innovation, BAIC Group will continue to improve its strength and make all-out efforts to prosper China’s auto industry and enhance the international popularity of Chinese brands.