General Manager, HR Director, Finance Director... Resign Simultaneously! Zhongli Group Experiences Executive "Earthquake," Insiders Claim: Mid-Level Managers Are Next

Stock trading relies on Golden Kylin Analyst Reports—authoritative, professional, timely, comprehensive—helping you uncover potential thematic opportunities!

Text | “Nengjianpai” Liu Lili

Shortly after being delisted from ST status, Zhongli Group (rights protection) recently attracted market attention again, including three senior executives—Chairman and General Manager, Deputy General Manager and HR Director, and CFO—resigning simultaneously, raising doubts about the company’s future direction.

Regarding the multiple resignations of senior executives, an internal source from Zhongli Group told “Nengjianpai” that this was an internal management adjustment with no other issues, and their replacements have already taken office and are performing their duties normally. Another internal source said that after this round of leadership changes, middle management will also see changes, and upcoming there will be personnel from Jianfa coming in.

Previously, Zhongli Group was warned of delisting risk due to financial report fraud, violations by the former controlling shareholder involving illegal fund occupation, and other risks. After Xiamen Jianfa Group, a state-owned enterprise with local government background, became the controlling shareholder of Changshu Guangsheng New Energy Co., Ltd., Zhongli Group’s performance was set to rebound in 2025. Although still forecasted to incur losses, the loss reduction was nearly 97%.

**　Jianfa Group’s personnel reshuffle again**

According to an internal source from Zhongli Group, the resigning directors and general managers—Zheng Xiaojie, General Manager and Director; Chen Qinghui, Deputy General Manager and HR Director; and Liao Jiaqing, CFO—are all from the controlling shareholder Jianfa Group system.

Notably, General Manager Zheng Xiaojie has completely exited Zhongli, resigning from all positions including director, nomination committee, investment decision committee, and risk control committee, and no longer holds any role in the company. Her resignation came nearly two years earlier than her original term ending on February 5, 2028. Chen Qinghui also resigned from all positions, while Liao Jiaqing, after stepping down as CFO, continued to serve as Secretary of the Board and was appointed as the new General Manager at a temporary board meeting.

An internal source said this leadership overhaul was due to internal reasons within the controlling shareholder, adding, “Once the top management changes, middle management will follow,” and more personnel from Jianfa will come in.

The same source mentioned that since Jianfa took over Zhongli, management has largely been arranged and overseen by Jianfa.

On the evening of August 21, 2023, ST Zhongli announced that it had signed a “Restructuring Investment (Intention) Agreement” with Changshu Guangsheng New Energy Co., Ltd., an industrial investor, and the company’s temporary administrator. The controlling shareholders of Guangsheng New Energy are Xiamen Jianfa Co., Ltd. and Xiamen Xingyuan Investment Co., Ltd., both subsidiaries of Jianfa Group. On November 19, 2024, *ST Zhongli disclosed a draft restructuring plan, announcing the introduction of Guangsheng New Energy to gradually shed historical burdens and upgrade main business capacity. Jianfa’s involvement marked a significant step.

However, more than half a year later, in May 2025, Jianfa Group underwent leadership change, with Xu Xiaoxi replacing the retired Huang Wenzhou as Party Secretary and Chairman of Jianfa Group. Huang Wenzhou had been Chairman since March 2017 and also served as Party Secretary. Jianfa’s participation in Zhongli’s restructuring occurred around 2023–2024, during Huang Wenzhou’s final years in office.

During those years, Jianfa Group made frequent moves—acquiring Hesong Co., Ltd. in 2021, MekaLong in 2023, and Zhongli in 2024. The acquisition of MekaLong was controversial. The agreed transaction price was 4.82 yuan per share, totaling 6.286 billion yuan, but now MekaLong’s stock price and the transaction price are nearly halved.

Recently, Jianfa’s 2025 earnings forecast predicts a loss of 5.2 to 10 billion yuan, mainly due to large asset impairments impacting the financial statements. The fair value of MekaLong’s investment properties was sharply reduced, combined with goodwill and asset impairments, resulting in a one-time huge loss that significantly lowered consolidated performance.

Analysts believe Jianfa’s push to transform MekaLong into a home consumption and experience-oriented business makes sense, but such adjustments, tenant recruitment, and revenue restructuring take time. In the short term, they not only fail to generate profits but also increase costs. Some view Jianfa’s acquisitions as “picking up a rotten apple.”

**　Hidden concerns behind the profit reduction**

It’s certain that the recent leadership changes at Zhongli are unlikely to be directly related to its performance. The 2025 forecast shows that Zhongli expects a net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company between -35 million and -60 million yuan, a near 97% reduction from the -1.174 billion yuan loss in 2024.

How is Zhongli reducing its losses? The company states that the main reasons are “improving operational management, implementing cost reduction and quality enhancement measures, and divesting inefficient and ineffective assets.”

Regarding asset divestment, Zhongli has indeed taken action. On December 14, 2025, Zhongli announced plans to transfer 100% of its stake in Qinghai Zhongli Fiber Optic Technology Co., Ltd., at a transaction price of 951,500 yuan.

This is an extremely discounted price. In 2016, Zhongli paid 30 million yuan to acquire a 15.52% stake in Qinghai Zhongli. The company is now insolvent, with operational cash flow of only 283,000 yuan.

Since 2026, Zhongli has also posted recruitment notices on universities and talent markets for positions such as production management reserves, engineering technicians, technical engineers, workshop workers, and warehouse staff, though the numbers are limited.

Regarding current production, an internal source from Zhongli said that the company’s photovoltaic segment is operating normally and actively expanding overseas markets. On capacity utilization, the source mentioned that the company is flexible in production and also utilizes other capacities, such as overseas local facilities, which are cheaper and more efficient.

“Previously, when the market was good, Zhongli could subcontract components. Now, both domestic and overseas markets are declining, and photovoltaic manufacturing has become a negative asset. Domestic production has basically stopped, leaving only the Thailand factory, but its production line is outdated, and upgrades require further investment,” said an industry insider. Zhongli mainly outsources overseas manufacturing and has little in-house mass production.

Zhongli initially entered the photovoltaic field relying on rural PV projects. In 2014, leveraging national policies, Zhongli rapidly expanded its PV poverty alleviation power station development, earning the nickname “First Stock in PV Poverty Alleviation.” In 2015, Zhongli launched the “Ten Thousand Farmers PV” campaign, reaching a peak in 2017, with PV poverty stations becoming a major revenue source, and Zhongli invested over 5 billion yuan.

However, policy changes later turned these projects into liabilities. Industry insiders say that Zhongli’s agricultural PV stations had high borrowing costs, delayed subsidies, and now face declining electricity prices, leading to significant asset devaluation.

They added that Zhongli’s distributed PV systems—larger ones sold to China Three Gorges and China Nuclear Huaneng, as well as ShaJiaBang tourism company—along with many household PV systems remaining on the listed company’s books, including overdue national subsidies. These issues are now left to the controlling shareholder Jianfa to handle.

Regarding Zhongli’s loss reduction, analysts believe that the net loss attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 35 million to 60 million yuan, and the net loss after deducting non-recurring gains and losses of 240 million to 350 million yuan, show a large gap. This indicates that the 2025 loss reduction heavily relies on non-recurring gains and losses. While Zhongli’s core business profitability has improved, it still has a long way to go to truly turn losses into profits.