Turmoil at Aqualand as power couple split, executive sidelined

A blow-up at the top of Chinese property giant Aqualand has seen its senior executive Helkin He – the wife of company boss Jin ‘Jim’ Lin – demoted.

Aqualand executive Helkin He has been demoted after the separation.

A blow-up at the top of Chinese property giant Aqualand has seen its senior executive Helkin He – the wife of company boss Jin “Jim” Lin – demoted.

The $9.5bn company insists she remains “responsible for certain aspects” of the business, despite sources revealing her access to company systems had been terminated.

Ms He was reportedly cut off from company systems in recent weeks after a breakdown in her relationship with Mr Lin.

Sources with direct knowledge of the circumstances said Ms He continued to attend the Aqualand office for days after she was removed from her role as head of procurement and construction. Senior figures in the company eventually ordered that she be barred.

Ms He led Aqualand’s hospitality precincts business Etymon and headed the procurement ­operation.

Aqualand is the local subsidiary of Chinese development giant Shenglong, which boasts more than $25bn in investments and assets. Mr Lin led the local operation on behalf of his father Yi Lin.

The Australian understands staff at Aqualand’s Australia Square office watched on as the acrimonious split spilt into company corridors.

Sources said Ms He may make a return to Aqualand in a different role, still to be determined.

A spokesman for Aqualand said Ms He “was not fired” but was “in fact still on our company website”.

He said Ms He was “still responsible for certain aspects within our business” and had instead “decided to dedicate more time to raising her three growing children”.

In response to a series of detailed questions the Aqualand spokesman said the firm would “not discuss personal matters, whether it be in regards to the Lin family, or any of our valued staff”.

Aqualand managing director Jin Lin.

Mr Lin is among the richest men in China and has been a supporter of the Labor Party, with Shenglong donating $100,000 in 2010.

The conflict between Jin Lin and Ms He is unlikely to lead to a change in control of Aqualand, with ownership of the company in the name of Mr Lin’s 57-year-old mother Yunhui Lin.

Ms Lin set a record with her $8.5m purchase of a waterfront house in Sydney’s Waverton in 2010. Mr Lin set a record of his own in 2016, soon after graduating from Macquarie University, when he spent $52m on Vaucluse mansion Villa Igiea.

Sources indicated the split between Mr Lin and Ms He had been coming for some time.

Well placed sources said Ms He recently took charge of Etymon, a move soon followed by the termination of two members of the senior leadership team.

Ms He has been given several roles across Aqualand, including positions in the company’s sales and marketing teams, finance and procurement.

Former staff indicated Ms He would frequently have meltdowns in company meetings, with several staff quitting the company, citing an unworkable environment. “There’s going to be a mass exodus,” a former staff member said.

Aqualand’s long-time boss John Carfi quit the luxury property and investment group in January.

Several former staff and personal assistants to Ms He and Mr Lin have also quit Aqualand, with former staff reporting they were being contacted out of hours or on weekends, often using Chinese messaging platform WeChat, to demand assistance. “As with any other Australian business, Aqualand undergoes natural attrition and people movements – which is normal for any expanding business,” an Aqualand spokesman said.

Ms He has three children with Mr Lin, who is known to stroll through Aqualand’s offices in luxury tracksuits.

Former staff describe the Chinese property billionaire as shy and introverted with a love of fast cars.

Aqualand’s AURA project in North Sydney.

The Australia Real Estate Personality of the Year 2023 winner rarely speaks to the media, but in a recent profile Mr Lin paid tribute to Ms He “and his loving family for their enduring support”.

Aqualand recently ruled off its AURA project in North Sydney, boasting of topping sales records with $40m in exchanged contracts in August.

The $1bn mixed-use tower came as Aqualand capped off 10 years of operation.

However, sources with knowledge of the project suggested the AURA project suffered budget overruns and months of delays, amid allegations of meddling.

However, an Aqualand spokesman rejected this, saying AURA “actually completed on time and under budget”.

Sources said several subcontractors on the site were terminated with little notice, while key decisions were hijacked by others in the business.

“Everyone else wore the consequences,” one source said.

One source noted Ms He had expected to open the AURA building, but when schedules for the event arrived she was not included.

Aqualand has also been frustrated in some of its projects. Its Central Barangaroo project, picked up in a fire sale from distressed Melbourne developer Grocon, remains a car park.

Aqualand has repeatedly proposed plans for the $2bn Central Barangaroo project, but the project remains mired in disputes over sight lines.

Aqualand’s most recent set of accounts filed with the corporate regulator, for 2022-2023, show it has a stack of unsold assets with $353m in inventories on its books. The company recorded a $72.8m loss in 2023, largely driven by finance costs. Aqualand repaid $46.5m in financing costs in the year, almost $34.1m to Shenglong Group.

Shenglong Group lent Aqualand $700m in 2020.

The accounts note that during the year Aqualand was “non-compliant” with covenants on a $316m loan tied to its AURA unit trust, but these were waived.

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