Chairman of Nandu Power's Business Philosophy

Carbon Number: Reconstructing the Value of the Electric New Industry

Before we start today, let’s tell a story:

An individual named Zhu and the actual controller of a listed company jointly established a company. One year after its founding, the actual controller of the listed company sold his 51% stake to the listed company. Three years later, Zhu also sold his 49% stake to the listed company. At that time, the valuation of the joint venture sold to the listed company had already reached 4 billion yuan!

Since then, Zhu, the individual, has been able to become a second shareholder of the listed company, later even elected as chairman and general manager, while the original major shareholder completely exited the board and management, suddenly “disappeared.”

Now, an even more bizarre event has occurred. This subsidiary, once valued at 4 billion yuan, has poor operational quality and has been consistently losing money. The listed company decided to sell it again, and the buyer was none other than Zhu, the person who sold it to them originally—now the chairman of the listed company. The sale price this time was only 1.415 billion yuan. Buying high and selling low, the company lost 2.6 billion yuan in this transaction.

The story isn’t over. The sold subsidiary still owes the listed company 1.15 billion yuan, under the guise of “financial support.”

Brief summary of this capital scheme by Carbon Number:

(1) Chairman Zhu essentially spent less than 300 million yuan in cash to acquire a company that was once valued at 4 billion yuan.

(2) The money Zhu used to buy was not his own but was pledged against his holdings of the listed company’s stock.

(3) The current listed company has a debt ratio approaching 80%, is very short of cash, and is rushing to issue H-shares to raise funds in Hong Kong.

This A-share listed company is called Nandu Power, and Zhu is its current chairman, Zhu Baoyi.

No surprise here; the more you look, the more you see that many of the over 5,000 listed companies in the A-share market have astonishing stories. The regulatory “magic mirror” often can’t see through the reality, which also has many issues.

That said, whenever mentioning Nandu Power, Carbon Number always feels a bit regretful. Almost all of its peers in energy storage and lead-acid battery industries are profitable; only Nandu Power is struggling. Its earnings forecast shows: by 2025, Nandu Power is expected to have a net loss of 890 million to 1.25 billion yuan. Cold as it may seem, after peeling back the layers and truly understanding this company, it’s no longer surprising.

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Six months later, the chairman once again has his eyes on the listed company

Sometimes, whether a company can make money has nothing to do with the industry or its history. When the wind blows, not all pigs can fly! Even with 30 years of energy storage experience, if management is poor or their thinking isn’t aligned with the company’s, losses will happen.

Carbon Number believes that the main problem with Nandu Power lies with its second shareholder and current chairman, Zhu Baoyi.

Public information shows: Zhu Baoyi is now the second-largest shareholder of Nandu Power, directly holding 6.62%. His brother, Zhu Baode, is the eighth-largest shareholder, holding 0.7%. The two are acting in concert, holding a total of 6.96% of Nandu Power.

Last June, Carbon Number wrote an article titled “Nandu Power Under the Control of the Second Shareholder: The Secrets Behind Stock Price Fluctuations,” pointing out that Nandu Power is fully controlled by Zhu Baoyi and the Zhu family, with governance issues.

More than half a year later, Zhu Baoyi is once again eyeing the company.

On March 13 this year, Nandu Power announced it planned to acquire 100% of its subsidiary Anhui Huabo Recycled Resources Technology Co., Ltd. (hereafter: Huabo Recycled) for 1.415 billion yuan.

This target company is essentially the backbone of Nandu Power. In the first half of 2025, Nandu Power’s revenue was 3.923 billion yuan, while the target company’s revenue reached 979 million yuan.

The reason given by the listed company for this transaction is: selling this part of the assets will free up funds, allowing Nandu Power to focus on its core business.

Currently, Nandu Power’s asset-liability ratio is 79.01%, far above the warning line, with liquidity at risk. The company indeed needs to find ways to raise cash, whether through asset sales or capital market financing. Notably, this company was originally sold to the listed company by Zhu Baoyi and Nandu Power’s actual controllers, with a valuation of up to 4 billion yuan.

Now, it’s necessary to revisit the history of Huabo Recycled, Zhu Baoyi, and Nandu Power.

(1) Huabo Recycled was established on April 14, 2014. At that time, Zhou Qingzhi held 51% through Shanghai Nandu Weifeng Investment Management Co., Ltd., and Zhu Baoyi held 49%.

Who is Zhou Qingzhi? Many Nandu Power shareholders might find this name unfamiliar. In fact, he is the real controller and the true boss behind Nandu Power.

His background is impressive: public info shows Zhou Qingzhi was born in March 1955, graduated from Zhejiang University (formerly Hangzhou University) in history, and holds Singapore nationality. His career includes roles such as deputy section chief at Zhejiang Archives Bureau, director at Zhejiang Policy Research Office, business director at Zhejiang Provincial Government’s Zhuhai Office, secretary to the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee Secretary, vice president of the South Group of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, chairman and general manager of Zhejiang Nantou Industrial Co., Ltd., and long-term chairman of Nandu Power.

Until 2022, he disappeared from Nandu Power’s board and management team, with no involvement in recent years.

(2) One year after Huabo Recycled was established, Zhou Qingzhi sold his 51% stake to Nandu Power, which he directly controlled.

(3) Zhu Baoyi sold his 49% stake to Nandu Power in 2017 for 1.96 billion yuan. At that time, the company’s overall valuation was about 4 billion yuan.

The original shareholder Zhu Baoyi promised that Huabo Recycled’s net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses from 2017 to 2019 would total no less than 1.65 billion yuan, but the actual achieved was 1.243 billion yuan, only 75.34% of the target, failing to meet the performance commitment.

Now, planning to buy it back for 1.415 billion yuan, Zhu Baoyi has truly achieved high selling and low buying—worthy of being called a master investor.

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Selling assets cheaply while also lending 1.15 billion yuan!

Nandu Power announced that it will transfer 100% of its wholly owned subsidiary Huabo Recycled Resources to Houji Lianeng. After the transaction, the company will no longer hold shares in Huabo Recycled.

The counterparty is Anhui Houji Lianeng Operation Management Partnership (Limited Partnership), established on January 14, 2026, with Anhui Houji Mining Co., Ltd. holding 60%, and Jiexian City Houji Huaneng Operation Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) holding 40%.

So, who is the true controller behind Anhui Houji Lianeng Operation Management Partnership (Limited Partnership)?

From the shareholding structure, Anhui Houji Mining Co., Ltd. appears to be the ultimate controller of the target company.

(1) Tianyancha shows this company is still a micro-enterprise, with only 8 employees in 2024; three individual shareholders: Wang Dong, Wang Pei, Wang Gangli. How strong do you think it is?

(2) The announcement discloses its financials. The company’s specific operations are unknown, but in 2024, with only 8 employees, it achieved a net profit of 178 million yuan.

From the announcement: recent two-year main financial data of Anhui Houji Mining Co., Ltd.; units: ten thousand yuan

(3) It’s worth highlighting Wang Dong: he has many industries, serves as an executive and shareholder in multiple companies. Notably, he once held 50% of Anhui Jin Hong Recycled Resources Technology Co., Ltd., whose legal representative is Zhu Baohong, Zhu Baoyi’s brother.

On April 28, 2022, Nandu Power announced: “Anhui Baohong New Material Technology Co., Ltd. is controlled by Zhu Baohong, the brother of Mr. Zhu Baoyi.”

Do you think there is any relationship between Anhui Houji Mining Co., Ltd. and Zhu Baoyi?

In fact, the announcement also revealed some connections between the counterparty and Zhu Baoyi. Another shareholder of the counterparty—Jiexian City Houji Huaneng Operation Management Partnership (Limited Partnership)—is directly related to Zhu Baoyi, indirectly controlled by him.

Based on publicly available information, regardless of where the counterparty’s funds come from or who the true “buyer” is, we have reason to believe that Zhu Baoyi is directly driving this matter.

Moreover, Zhu Baoyi has already started raising funds for this!

On the same day the company announced the transfer of the target company’s equity, Nandu Power announced that Zhu Baoyi pledged 3.4 million shares of the company to Hangzhou Baotong Pawnshop Co., Ltd. for personal funding needs. After this pledge, his pledged shares account for 64.1136% of his holdings, representing 4.0106% of the total shares.

Can we say Zhu Baoyi is using Nandu Power’s money to buy Nandu Power’s assets? Zhu Baoyi truly understands capital.

From the announcement: Pledged shares of Zhu Baoyi and his concerted actors

Next, it’s necessary to discuss the reasonableness of this transaction.

(1) The transaction price for 100% of Huabo Recycled is 1.415 billion yuan.

(2) The announcement states: “The book investment cost of the 100% equity of Huabo Recycled is 1,512,597,800 yuan, with no profit or loss adjustment, no other equity changes, and a total book value of 1,512,597,800 yuan.” This indicates a discounted transfer.

(3) As of the signing date, Nandu Power provided guarantees totaling about 328 million yuan to Huabo Recycled, and Huabo Recycled provided guarantees of 590 million yuan to Nandu Power and its subsidiaries.

(4) After the transaction, the company’s financial support to Huabo Recycled will total 1.15 billion yuan.

From these details, we can conclude: the acquirer will pay 1.415 billion yuan to acquire the target company, which still owes the listed company 1.15 billion yuan.

The announcement states: “After this transaction, the company will realize a large cash inflow: 1.415 billion yuan from the equity transfer, and 1.15 billion yuan from financial support, totaling 2.565 billion yuan.”

However, in reality, the financial support money will be paid over the next five years (at an annual interest rate of 3.5%)!

Closing remarks

With a debt ratio of 79%, what reason or strength does Nandu Power have to provide financial support externally?

This transaction will passively result in Nandu Power providing financial support of 1.15 billion yuan to Huabo Recycled.

Will Huabo Recycled and Zhu Baoyi have the ability to repay in the future? Can Nandu Power continue to lend to Huabo Recycled?

These are all questions worth discussing.

(1) First, Huabo Recycled is currently losing money. In 2024 and the first three quarters of 2025, it lost 4.692 million and 191 million yuan respectively, with poor operational quality.

Anhui Huabo Recycled Resources Technology Co., Ltd. financial status; units: ten thousand yuan

(2) The asset-liability ratios at the end of 2024 and Q3 2025 are 88.60% and 90.45%, respectively, indicating serious liquidity risks.

With such financial conditions, it’s unlikely that banks or financial institutions will continue to provide financing support.

(3) The repayment plan for the target company’s financial support to Nandu Power is as follows:

By December 31, 2026: 100 million yuan;

By March 31, 2027: 250 million yuan;

By June 30, 2027: 250 million yuan;

By September 30, 2027: 250 million yuan;

By December 31, 2027: 300 million yuan.

Do you think this is feasible? Carbon Number remains skeptical.

The reason is simple: first, how can a poorly managed enterprise in Nandu Power be well-managed and profitable under Zhu Baoyi’s personal control? If it cannot make money, how can it repay?

If Zhu Baoyi can run the target company well, why not revive it within Nandu Power instead of selling it?

Second, Nandu Power’s own cash flow is already very tight, and it has no obligation or capacity to support others.

By the end of Q3 2024, Nandu Power’s asset-liability ratio exceeded 79%, far above the warning line, facing severe liquidity risks.

If Nandu Power wants to transform and must sell the target company, it should truly cash out and not leave a big hidden danger. Even related-party guarantees should be thoroughly cleared. Complex related-party guarantees are often hidden risks.

If this time the 1.15 billion yuan financial support can be fully recovered at once, Nandu Power wouldn’t need to raise funds in Hong Kong.

Last April, Nandu Power announced plans to issue H-shares “to promote globalization, enhance brand image and reputation, improve overall competitiveness, and build an international capital operation platform, as well as improve corporate governance transparency and standardization.”

“From adversity to self-cultivation, to benefiting the world when successful,” Nandu Power has no reason to act as a “Lei Feng”! Not even for Chairman Zhu Baoyi!

Editor: Zhen Carbon