8 Billion Yuan Chifeng Gold May Change Hands, 43-Year-Old Founder's Widow Plans to Sell Nearly 10 Billion Yuan in Equity Stakes

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Journalist | Dong Peng

Editor | Zheng Shifeng

Chifeng Gold, which achieved record-high operating performance, has its actual controller suddenly choosing to step back abruptly.

On March 19, Chifeng Gold suspended trading. The company announced the previous evening that Li Jinyang and its concerted parties are planning to transfer their shares in the company, which may lead to a change in the company’s actual control.

Li Jinyang, 43 years old, is the widow of Zhao Meiguang, the founder of Chifeng Gold. Both are from Jilin City, Jilin Province. After Zhao Meiguang passed away due to illness in December 2021, he left all his estate, including his shares in Chifeng Gold, entirely to Li Jinyang.

As of the end of Q3 2025, Li Jinyang and her concerted parties hold 12.73% of Chifeng Gold’s shares. Before trading suspension, the company’s total market value reached 77.6 billion yuan. Based on the closing price, the total value of these shares was approximately 9.87 billion yuan.

If Li Jinyang transfers all her shares and considering the premium for control acquisition, the transfer could likely exceed 10 billion yuan.

On the day of suspension, a reporter from 21st Century Business Herald contacted the company as an investor. A Chifeng Gold representative responded, “The company is also waiting for shareholder notification. If there is clear progress in the relevant transaction, the company will disclose more details in subsequent announcements.”

In fact, without external financing, only a few domestic mining companies have the capacity to acquire such a large stake worth over 10 billion yuan, including Zijin Mining, Shandong Gold, China Gold Group, and Luoyang Molybdenum.

Some of these companies have explicitly focused on acquiring gold assets and have completed large-scale external mergers and acquisitions exceeding 10 billion yuan in recent years.

The Founder’s “Legacy”

The founder of Chifeng Gold is Zhao Meiguang. In the early days, he gradually built a leading gold enterprise by acquiring bankrupt silver and gold mines.

In December 2012, Zhao Meiguang injected Chifeng Jilong Mining (the core entity of Chifeng Gold) into the A-share company Oriental Baolong (ST Baolong) to complete a backdoor listing. The listed company was renamed Chifeng Gold.

Subsequently, the company acquired Liaoning Wulong Gold Mine and Xiongfeng Environmental Protection, beginning to venture into non-ferrous metal recycling and multi-metal mines. However, these only contributed to the company’s scale growth, with gold products remaining its most profitable business.

Around 2019, the company’s internal governance and strategic direction changed.

Wang Jianhua, who previously served as Chairman of Shandong Gold Group and President of Zijin Mining, joined Chifeng Gold in September 2018 and became Chairman in December 2019.

The addition of a professional management team made Chifeng Gold’s business more focused. The company’s overall strategy shifted from “mainly mining” in 2019 to “mainly gold” in 2020.

On December 11, 2021, Zhao Meiguang passed away at age 59. According to her will, all her personal estate was inherited solely by her spouse, Li Jinyang, making her the new actual controller.

The next day, Li Jinyang wrote to the board of Chifeng Gold, pledging full cooperation with Chairman Wang Jianhua and the management team, supporting the company’s strategic development and safeguarding its growth.

Under Wang Jianhua’s leadership, Chifeng Gold has, in recent years, promoted internal technological upgrades and capacity expansion while increasing overseas resource acquisitions.

Historical data shows that in 2019, Chifeng Gold produced 2.07 tons of gold, which increased to 15.16 tons by 2024.

As production increased and gold prices rose, the company’s performance exploded, reaching heights Zhao Meiguang had never seen.

According to earnings forecasts, in 2025, Chifeng Gold’s net profit is expected to reach 3 to 3.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 70% to 81%, setting a new profit record.

Meanwhile, Chifeng Gold outpaced Zijin Gold International in March 2025 to complete a “value revaluation” through H-share listing, with a 118% increase that year.

The company previously stated that it has established a “low-interest debt + strong cash flow” financial structure, with interest-bearing debt remaining low globally, significantly reducing interest expenses, and maintaining ample cash flow.

Data from periodic reports show that as of the end of Q3 2025, Chifeng Gold’s asset-liability ratio was only 33.58%, also among the lowest in the mining industry.

Overall, after Wang Jianhua’s restructuring, Chifeng Gold has become a large-scale mining company with highly concentrated operations, good operational safety margins, and an initial international presence.

However, potential changes in control rights in the future introduce new uncertainties for the company’s development.

Li Jinyang’s Intent to Withdraw Again

More shares don’t fill the stomach; real cash is more compelling.

From the start of inheriting shares, Li Jinyang has shown a strong desire to exit. Just three months after becoming the actual controller, in March 2022, she signed a share transfer agreement with Huaneng Trust’s Yuanhe 5th Collective Capital Trust Plan, planning to transfer 5.77% of the company’s shares at 16.79 yuan per share.

At that time, Li Jinyang explained, “To further implement the strategic goal of optimizing the company’s equity structure, introduce capable investors, and raise funds to repay debts.”

Public records show that as of the end of March 2022, Li Jinyang’s holdings in Chifeng Gold were not pledged.

Later, due to not meeting transfer conditions within the agreed period, the agreement was terminated in November 2022 after mutual consultation.

Interestingly, after the transfer failed, Li Jinyang shifted from selling to buying.

In December 2022, Zhao Meiguang’s two sisters, Zhao Guixiang and Zhao Guiyuan, transferred all their minority shares in Chifeng Gold to Li Jinyang via block trade.

At that time, the London gold spot price was only $1,800 per ounce, and the average transfer price of Zhao Guixiang and Zhao Guiyuan’s shares was just 18.64 yuan per share.

Subsequently, international gold prices began rising for three consecutive years. Although Chifeng Gold’s operational data showed significant growth, its stock price in 2023 and 2024 did not increase markedly and even declined slightly compared to late 2022.

It wasn’t until 2025, when international gold prices surged and drew widespread attention, that Chifeng Gold’s stock price doubled, reaching a peak of 51.5 yuan.

This provided a good opportunity for Li Jinyang, who had long been considering withdrawal.

Additionally, recent high fluctuations in international gold prices caused Chifeng Gold’s stock to retreat nearly 20% from its previous high. Li Jinyang, who has never held a position in the listed company, chose to exit again.

It’s worth noting that without transferring shares, Li Jinyang would find it difficult to obtain more cash returns from the company.

Wind data shows that Chifeng Gold’s undistributed profits only turned positive in 2017. Since 2019, the company has been profitable, with a total net profit of 7.702 billion yuan since listing, but total cash dividends amount to only 387 million yuan, mainly in 2023 and 2024.

Compared to the company’s current net profit, the total cash dividends in 2023 and 2024 only account for about 10.25% and 17.23%, respectively.

This is also related to the industry characteristics of mining companies, which are essentially “investment firms” requiring large capital for resource mergers and project development.

Especially during rapid expansion phases, mining companies often feel their funds are insufficient.

New “Owner” of Chifeng Gold

Unlike in 2022, this time Li Jinyang’s share transfer directly involves a change of control, likely exceeding the previous scale.

As of the end of Q3 2025, Li Jinyang directly held 1.9 billion shares of Chifeng Gold, and through Zhejiang Hanfeng Venture Capital (99% owned by Li Jinyang), indirectly held 520 million shares, totaling 2.42 billion shares, or 12.73% of the company.

Based on the pre-suspension closing price of 40.82 yuan per share, the total value of these shares was approximately 98.75 billion yuan.

Typically, when major shareholders transfer shares involving control change, a premium of 10% to 20% or more is common.

This suggests that if Li Jinyang transfers all her shares, the transaction could exceed 100 billion yuan. Few gold mining companies have the capacity to acquire such a stake.

For example, in 2024, Chifeng Gold’s mineral gold production reached 15.16 tons, ranking fifth nationwide.

The companies with higher production than Chifeng Gold include Zijin Mining (72.94 tons), Shandong Gold (46.17 tons), China Gold Group (18.35 tons), and Zhaojin Mining (18.34 tons).

These companies generally have strong payment capabilities and ambitions for expansion.

Zijin Mining, for instance, invested 13.7 billion yuan in 2025 to acquire Cangge Mining’s control rights, and announced in January this year a roughly 28 billion yuan acquisition of Canadian miner United Gold.

They are also on track to meet or exceed their 2028 production targets of 130-140 tons, having already surpassed the 100-110 tons/year goal earlier.

Since 2015, Zijin’s overall capitalization has accelerated significantly, with overseas gold assets spun off into Hong Kong-listed companies, achieving great success in valuation reappraisal. Its domestic gold assets currently have no publicized capital operations plans.

Shandong Gold and China Gold Group have also set clear future production targets, with China Gold Group expecting the strongest growth in mineral gold.

According to China Mining Network, at the January 21, 2024, China Gold Group’s 2026 work conference, the goal is to achieve “tripling and tripling” by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan—meaning mineral gold production will quadruple, copper mine output will double, and employee income will double.

Besides these leading gold miners, rapidly growing private mining companies active in mergers and acquisitions in recent years may also become potential targets.

For example, Luoyang Molybdenum, which invested 10.145 billion yuan in 2025 to acquire multiple South American gold mines, has clearly prioritized resource mergers focused on copper and gold.

Similarly, Zhongda Mining, also based in Inner Mongolia and operating similarly to Chifeng Gold, although with less financial strength, has been active in M&A markets in recent years. From 2022 to 2023, it invested 8.1 billion yuan in projects like the Malkangjia Lithium Mine in Sichuan and the Jijiaoshan Lithium Mine in Hunan, and its actual controller even made small investments in catering company Xibei.

Of course, whether Li Jinyang’s share transfer will ultimately succeed, how much will be transferred, and which leading mining or non-industry companies will take over remain highly uncertain.

Who will become the new owner of Chifeng Gold? The listed company’s subsequent announcements will provide the answer, and if actions are swift, we may see the outcome next week.