On the evening of June 12th, ST Aikang (002610.SZ) announced that the company and its actual controller Zou Chenghui are suspected of violating laws and regulations on information disclosure. Both the company and Zou Chenghui have been investigated. As of the closing on that day, ST Aikang’s closing price has been below 1 yuan (RMB) per share for 16 consecutive trading days. This leading solar panel company is now facing the risk of delisting with 276,800 shareholders trapped in deep losses. It has been reported that the actual controller of the company has cashed out over 2 billion yuan.
According to the announcement, on the 12th, ST Aikang received a “Notice of Filing” issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission stating that the company and its actual controller, Zou Chenghui, are suspected of violating laws and regulations on information disclosure, leading to a regulatory investigation.
On April 15th, Aikang claimed on its investor interaction platform that, according to relevant regulations of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s listing rules, the company did not face the risk of being delisted as an ST stock.
An article by “21st Century Business Herald” reported that when ST Aikang went public in 2011, Zou Chenghui’s family collectively held 43.63% of the company’s shares. From 2017 to 2022, major shareholders continuously reduced their holdings, selling a total of 627 million shares and cashing out 2.054 billion yuan.
From 2015 to 2020, Zou Chenghui, the actual controller of ST Aikang, had been listed in the Hurun Rich List for six consecutive years.
On April 30th, ST Aikang released its 2023 annual report, stating that due to negative net profits in the past three years, and having received an audit report from the accountant indicating significant uncertainties in the company’s ability to continue operating and a negative assessment of internal controls, the company’s stock triggered other risk warning conditions specified by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange listing rules.
The company’s stock was suspended from trading on the day and resumed trading on May 6th. Since May 6th, the company’s stock has been subject to “other risk warnings,” with the stock ticker changing from “Aikang Technology” to “ST Aikang,” and the daily fluctuation limit set at 5%.
On June 12th, ST Aikang closed at 0.45 yuan per share, marking the 16th consecutive trading day with a closing price below 1 yuan per share, confirming the risk of “face value delisting.”
Starting from May 6th to June 12th, ST Aikang has hit the limit-down circuit for 27 consecutive trading days. As of the latest shareholder data released on May 20th, 276,800 shareholders are trapped in the stock.
On May 31st, ST Aikang announced two major negative developments, further impacting its consecutive limit-down trend. One was the freezing of 62 bank accounts of its 4 subsidiaries, with a total frozen amount of 84.0224 million yuan, of which 20.3437 million yuan were actually frozen. The other negative news was related to overdue amounts of guarantees for both on-balance and off-balance sheet companies, totaling 185 million yuan.
Public records show that ST Aikang was established in 2006, starting with the production of solar panel frames, and became the first domestic photovoltaic component company to list on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange main board in 2011.
After going public, ST Aikang underwent multiple business transformations, from battery assemblies, frames, and brackets, to venturing into photovoltaic power stations, but failed to establish a core business. During its peak, ST Aikang’s total market value reached as high as 27.5 billion yuan, making it a well-known new energy company in the A-share market.
However, since 2021, ST Aikang has been continuously losing money. According to the audited net profit figures in the company’s annual reports for 2021, 2022, and 2023, the company reported losses of 406 million yuan, 833 million yuan, and 826 million yuan respectively, accumulating total losses of approximately 2.065 billion yuan over the three years.
Simultaneously, the company’s annual auditing accounting firm issued a disclaimer and a significant uncertainty statement regarding continuous operations for the 2023 annual financial report, along with a negative assessment of internal controls in the 2023 audit report.