(Yicai Global) May 30 -- Liu Daoming, a Chinese entrepreneur who runs Myhome Real Estate Development, was among 19 new signatories of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge philanthropy effort this year.

Liu has donated CNY200 million (USD29 million) to charity since 1990 with a soft spot for Chinese social welfare, according to his pledge signed April 2019. Liu founded Myhome in Wuhan in 1989 and it collected CNY2.5 billion (USD362 million) in revenue last year, down 43 percent as net profit slid 63 percent to CNY249 million (USD36 million).

The Giving Pledge unveiled a list of signatories who had committed to the cause within the past 12 months on May 28, with MacKenzie Bezos, ex-wife of Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, among them.

Now in its ninth year, the campaign has 204 members from 23 countries and regions, according to the Giving Pledge website. It aims to encourage the world's wealthiest people to donate the majority of their fortune to charity either during their lifetime or after their death.

Signatories span finance, tech and medicine, among other sectors, with contributors committing their cash to resolving issues in climate change, education, poverty, medical research and services, economic development and social justice.

Editor: James Boynton