CHINA Hongqiao Group, the world’s biggest aluminum producer, has named Zhang Bo, son of the company’s late founder, as its new chairman.

Zhang Bo, 49, has been chief executive of Hongqiao since January 2011 and remains in that role after being elected chairman, according to a company filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange following a board meeting Friday.

His father, Zhang Shiping, who as the previous chairman oversaw Hongqiao’s rise to the top of the global aluminum industry, passed away May 23 aged 73.

Zhang Bo, who holds 0.1 percent of Hongqiao’s issued share capital, is also chairman of the aluminum association in Hongqiao’s home city of Binzhou and chairs the recently formed Shandong Aluminum Industry Association. (SD-Agencies)