(Yicai Global) Oct. 25 -- Shares of OneConnect Financial Technology jumped in pre-market trading after the unit of Chinese financial giant Ping An Insurance Group named the former president of information technology products developer and maker Kingdee Software China as its new chief executive officer.

OneConnect’s stock price [NYSE: OCFT] was 7.4 percent higher at USD3.90 in New York as of 5.15 a.m. local time today. The shares had fallen 7 percent on the last day of trading last week.

Shen Chongfeng, who was Kingdee’s president from 2019, joined OneConnect effective immediately, the technology-as-a-service provider said on Oct. 22. He was also made a board director.

“We look forward to Shen bringing his experience and expertise to further strengthen our technology capability, help us achieve our growth strategies and better serve financial institutions in their digital transformation with our technologies and solutions,” it said in a statement.

Former CEO Ye Wangchun will continue as chairman, OneConnect said, adding that “under his leadership, Kingdee China accelerated its business transformation to providing cloud services and software-as-a-service and achieved substantial growth in cloud business and market value.”

Shen will need to turn a profit at OneConnect. The Shenzhen-based company posted a net loss of CNY654 million (USD102.5 million) in the first half of this year, which was narrower than the CNY746 million logged in same period of last year.

The firm had notched up double-digit gains in annual revenue and gross margin for six consecutive quarters after its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2019.

Another challenge Shen faces is OneConnect’s share price, which has been falling since reaching an all-time high of USD28.80 last July. It went public at USD10 a share.

Other former executives from Chinese and overseas giants such as Microsoft, Salesforce, Alibaba Group Holding, and PricewaterhouseCoopers have also joined OneConnect in recent years. They worked in various industries from banking and technology to software and cloud services.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione