(Bloomberg) -- Chinese developer Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. plummeted the most on record after billionaire Chairman Wu Yajun stepped down, leaving the company without its longtime leader during a deepening nationwide property crisis.

The developer moved to shore up investor confidence with a controlling shareholder owned by Wu’s family buying shares. Charm Talent International Ltd., owned by a trust established by Wu’s daughter Cai Xinyi, will hold 43.41% of total issued share capital after Monday’s transaction, according to a filing. 

Longfor also said it made a partial early repayment of its syndicated loan due in 2023 in the amount of HK$5.1 billion ($650 million). The firm’s financial position “is healthy and safe,” the company added. 

Longfor shares were down 20% as of 1:47 p.m., recouping some earlier losses of as much as 45%. The property giant’s 4.5% bond due 2028 plunged 14.3 cents to 18.4 cents on the dollar, set for the largest decline on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Wu, 58, is stepping down due to health and age reasons, the company said in an exchange filing. She follows in the footsteps of other billionaires including Soho China Ltd.’s Pan Shiyi and Pan Zhang Xin, after a yearslong government tightening on private companies ranging from tech to property. Concerns had already been mounting about the financial strength of Longfor, which has the highest credit rating among private Chinese peers at BBB.

“It’s definitely a negative for the company,” said Steve Wong, an analyst at Essence International Financial Holdings Ltd. “For whatever reasons, it doesn’t make sense for the chairman to suddenly quit during a real estate crisis. Maybe Wu realized there’s little she can with do given the situation. Even if this year’s debt repayment is settled, next year is still going to look very difficult for Longfor.” 

Wu’s resignation reflects Longfor’s strategy to institutionalize operations, the company said. Wu’s family office is “firmly optimistic” about the real estate industry, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Longfor has no debt due for the rest of the year. 

The journalist-turned-entrepreneur is stepping back because of health issues including diabetes, Chinese state-backed media website House.China.com.cn reported on Sunday. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kristy Hung and Lisa Zhou said that Wu’s resignation may have limited impact on company operations. 

Longfor’s first half profit grew just 0.8%, the slowest since the first half of 2020 when the pandemic first started. The company was expected to receive a HK$3.5 billion syndicated loan, according to a person familiar with the matter in August. That could have helped to cover 20% of its short-term debt, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Longfor was the first private developer to issue a 1.5 billion yuan onshore note guaranteed by China Bond Insurance Co. in August, as part of a support initiative by the government to help the debt-straddled property sector to raise funds. 

Wu has a net worth of $5.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Longfor has $7.8 billion worth of outstanding bonds, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

--With assistance from Lorretta Chen and Kevin Kingsbury.

(Adds detail on company’s moves to shore up investor confidence from second paragraph.)

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