via Wellesley-Wood leaves Mwana Africa – DailyNews Live 31 August 2015
HARARE – Mwana Africa Plc (Mwana)’s non-executive director, Mark Wellesley-Wood, has resigned from the London-listed firm and is likely to be succeeded by a Chinese national, Ching Fung Hung, at the company’s annual general meeting slated for September 29.
The resignation of Wellesley-Wood comes hardly two months after Mwana’s founder and former chief executive Kalaa Mpinga resigned from the mining company in unclear circumstances — a move described by market watchers as a case of hostile takeover.
Wellesley-Wood, who was instrumental in the departure of Mpinga, Herbert Mashanyare and Ngoni Kudenga from the Africa-focused resources group, is expected to continue offering consultancy services to the company.
Mwana executive chairman Yat Hoi Ning praised Wellesley-Wood for his efforts “during what has been a challenging period of transition”.
“It is with deep regret that we received the news of Mark’s intention to resign from the Board of Mwana. Mark has provided unstinting guidance and support to the Company during the transitional phase following the changes in the directorate arising from the Extraordinary General Meeting in June,” he said.
“Our Board of Directors values the input and guidance he provided on a wide range of governance and operational matters. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire Company, I should like to express our sincere gratitude to Mark for all his services in recent months, and to acknowledge his invaluable contribution to the Company during this time,” Ning added.
Meanwhile, Mwana — which operates Bindura Nickel Corporation and Freda Rebecca mines in Zimbabwe — has proposed to appoint Hung, 31, to the board as a non-executive director.
Hung, affectionately known as Brian, is currently executive director of Jimei International Entertainment Group Limited and is executive director of China Bio Cassava Holdings Limited — both listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
He has been financial controller of Jimei Group since 2010 and worked as an auditor at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and at Grant Thornton from 2007 to 2010.
Hung became a full member of CPA Australia in October 2011 and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Macquarie University in Australia.
“I look forward to welcoming Brian to the Board of Mwana. We believe that Brian’s financial management experience will enable him to make a significant contribution to the board by monitoring and providing oversight to the business activities of the Company,” Ning said.
Mwana is a pan-African resources company involved in the production, development and exploration of gold, nickel, copper and diamonds. Mwana has operations in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and exploration interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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