Yao Ming elected chairman of the board at CBA company

Former NBA player Yao Ming listens to a question at a news conference after he was selected for the Basketball Hall of Fame in Beijing, China, April 6, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - Former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has been elected chairman of the board of the company that owns China's top basketball league.

Representatives of the 20 clubs that play in the Chinese Basketball Association League gathered at Dongguan, Guangdong province on Wednesday and Thursday for a CBA Company shareholders meeting.

Yao, who was elected president of the Chinese Basketball Association in February this year, was nominated as chairman of the board after Li Jinsheng, the director of the Basketball Management Center of General Administration of Sports of China, quit the post. The meeting approved the nomination unanimously.

Shi Nengkeng, who represents Fujian Xunxing, and Hou Wei, who represents Xinjiang Guanghui, were both elected into the board of directors.

Meanwhile, Zhou Shiqiang, the owner of Sichuan Jinqiang, was elected as the chairman of the board of supervisors.

The meeting also decided to launch a CBA youth league from the 2017-2018 in a bid to groom young talent.

Originally, the CBA Company had a total of 21 shareholders. Juren Advertising Center, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the CBA, accounted for 30 percent of the shares and 20 clubs each have a 3.5 percent share in the company, accounting for 70 percent of the total shares, while Juren Advertising Center relinquished its shares of the CBA Company as part of a massive reform in the sport.