600988, Opens at Daily Limit Down! Controlling Shareholder Proposes Change

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【Introduction】Zijin Mining plans to acquire a controlling stake in Chifeng Gold; Chifeng Gold’s A-shares open with a limit-down

China Fund News Reporter Xia Tian

The highly watched takeover of Chifeng Gold (Stock Code: 600988) has made a key breakthrough.

On the morning of March 23, Zijin Mining (Stock Code: 601899) and Chifeng Gold both announced that Zijin Mining intends to acquire a 25.85% stake in Chifeng Gold through a combination of “A-share purchase + H-share private placement,” becoming its controlling shareholder.

On March 23, Chifeng Gold’s stock resumed trading, but both stocks fell sharply. Chifeng Gold’s A-shares opened with a limit-down, while H-shares opened nearly 19% lower; Zijin Mining’s A-shares opened down 4.55%, and H-shares down 5.44%.

Market news shows international gold prices continued to decline, dropping over $4,400 per ounce in early trading.

Zijin Mining Gains Control of Chifeng Gold

According to the announcement, the change in control of Chifeng Gold involves a “two-step” process: an agreement to transfer existing A-shares and a targeted issuance of new H-shares.

The first step is an agreement transfer of A-shares, where Zijin Gold, a subsidiary of Zijin Mining, will acquire a total of 242 million A-shares from Chifeng Gold’s controlling shareholder Li Jinyang and his concerted party Zhejiang Hanfeng Investment Co., Ltd. (hereafter “Zhejiang Hanfeng”). The transfer price is set at 41.36 yuan per share, a 1.3% premium over the pre-trading halt closing price of 40.82 yuan. This amounts to approximately 10.006 billion yuan.

Notably, Zijin Gold has committed not to transfer these shares within 18 months, indicating a long-term holding and deep integration strategy. These shares represent 12.73% of Chifeng Gold’s total pre-transaction share capital and are the entire stake held by Li Jinyang and his concerted parties.

The second step involves a targeted issuance of H-shares. Zijin Gold and Chifeng Gold signed a “Strategic Investment Agreement,” proposing to subscribe to 311 million H-shares at 30.19 HKD per share. The issuance price is about 83% of the six-month average price before the suspension, approximately 28.3% lower than the 42.08 HKD closing price on March 18, reducing Zijin Mining’s investment cost and raising sufficient funds for Chifeng Gold. The total subscription amount is about 9.386 billion HKD (roughly 8.252 billion RMB), with net proceeds of about 9.292 billion HKD, to be used for operations, future development, and financial flexibility.

The total transaction value for both parts is approximately 18.258 billion RMB. After completion, Zijin Gold will hold a total of 572 million shares, about 25.85% of Chifeng Gold’s enlarged share capital, making it the largest single shareholder; Zijin Mining will officially gain control and consolidate its financials.

Zijin Mining stated that this transaction aligns with the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s policy encouraging leading listed companies to focus on core businesses and pursue mergers and acquisitions under non-controlling conditions, facilitating high-quality resource integration and enhancing the investment value of Zijin Mining and Chifeng Gold.

Widow of Chifeng Gold Founder Cashes Out 100 Billion Yuan and Exits

After the completion of the A-share agreement transfer, Li Jinyang and her concerted party Zhejiang Hanfeng will no longer hold any shares in Chifeng Gold, fully exiting the company founded by her late husband Zhao Meiguang, and cashing out about 10.006 billion yuan.

Looking back at Li Jinyang’s shareholding history, her change of status stemmed from an unexpected inheritance; her exit marks the end of her approximately four-year “hands-off” management style, where she was the owner but not the manager.

Public records show that Chifeng Gold was originally a private enterprise founded by Zhao Meiguang, who was known as one of “Inner Mongolia’s Four Major Tycoons.” Through precise resource deployment, he built the company into a well-known domestic gold producer. As of the suspension before March 2026, Chifeng Gold’s market value exceeded 70 billion yuan.

In December 2021, Zhao Meiguang passed away due to illness. According to his will, all his personal estate was inherited solely by his wife, Li Jinyang. At only 38 years old, she became the actual controller of this billion-yuan listed company overnight.

Unlike traditional family heirs, Li Jinyang has maintained a low profile since inheriting the shares, never holding any position in Chifeng Gold and rarely appearing publicly. She immediately wrote to the board of directors, stating she would not take on management roles and would fully cooperate with the management team led by Chairman Wang Jianhua. This governance model is quite rare among domestic resource-based private enterprises.

In fact, Zhao Meiguang had already laid the groundwork for corporate governance before his death. In November 2020, Zhao transferred 98.17 million shares (5.90% of total shares) of Chifeng Gold to Wang Jianhua at 17 yuan per share, totaling 1.669 billion yuan, stabilizing the management team’s foundation.

Under Wang Jianhua’s leadership, Chifeng Gold has experienced rapid growth, with profitability continuously improving. In 2024, the company achieved a total revenue of 9.026 billion yuan, up 24.99%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.764 billion yuan, up 119.46%. In 2025, it is expected to reach net profits of 3 to 3.2 billion yuan, an increase of 70% to 81%.

From a market perspective, Li Jinyang’s exit is not accidental. Public disclosures show that as early as 2022, she attempted to transfer 96 million shares but failed to complete the deal.

Industry analysts believe that her decision to fully exit now, amid strong company performance but declining international gold prices and a retreat from recent highs, reflects a rational asset realization at a relatively high industry cycle point.