LI Gang, the president of China Duty Free Group (CDF), died on October 14, the company said Sunday night.

Li only joined CDF in February this year and did not hold any shares in CDF. Company operations will not be affected.

Li started his career at China National Tourism Administration and became head of the China International Travel Service Corporation (CITS) which later merged with CDF. 

Li was a firm supporter of duty-free business. During his tenure as Chairman of CITS from March 2017 to August 2019, Li spearheaded the company's acquisition of CDF Sunrise, establishing a presence in duty-free businesses at major airports. Along with French retailer Lagardère, CITS formed a joint venture to secure the tobacco and alcohol retailing concession at Hong Kong International Airport.

In 2022, due to the pandemic, revenue decreased by 19.6 percent to 54.4 billion yuan (US$7.44 billion), and net profit dropped by half.

On October 9, CDF released its performance report for the first three quarters showing an operating income of 50.8 billion yuan, up 29.1 percent. Net profit in Q3 was 1.3 billion yuan, an increase of 93.2 percent YoY.