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Zhong Shanshan invests 3.4 billion (yuan) in the richest woman in Shanxi.

猎云网2025-07-01 11:06
Enter the recombinant collagen market segment.

As the competition between Bloomage Biotechnology and GIGABIO in the recombinant collagen field subsides, Zhong Shanshan, the former richest man in China, has quietly entered this track.

Recently, Jinbo Biotech announced that it plans to issue shares to Yangshengtang, a company under Zhong Shanshan, to raise no more than 2 billion yuan. Meanwhile, Yang Xia, the founder, will transfer 5% of her shares to a subsidiary of Yangshengtang for 1.403 billion yuan. The total amount of these two transactions is 3.4 billion yuan.

This is another crucial layout in Zhong Shanshan's capital map. Previously, he promoted the listing of Nongfu Spring and Wantai Biopharmaceutical through Yangshengtang and made investments in multiple fields such as food and beverage and biotechnology. His entry into the recombinant collagen field is another extension of his big - health map.

Zhong Shanshan's Investment in Collagen

An official announcement reveals more details.

According to the announcement, Jinbo Biotech plans to issue no more than 7.18 million shares (inclusive) to Yangshengtang, accounting for 6.24% of the company's total share capital before this issuance. The issuance price is 278.72 yuan per share, and the total amount of funds raised will not exceed 2 billion yuan. The lock - up period is 36 months.

In addition to the above subscription agreement for the private placement of shares, there is also a share transfer agreement. Yang Xia, the founder of Jinbo Biotech, will transfer 5% of her shares to Hangzhou Jiushi at a price of 243.84 yuan per share (a 24% discount to the market price), with a transaction value of 1.403 billion yuan.

Source: Screenshot of the announcement

The total investment of 3.4 billion yuan in Jinbo Biotech is directed at two companies, Yangshengtang and Hangzhou Jiushi, both of which are actually controlled by Zhong Shanshan. The equity relationship shows that Zhong Shanshan directly holds 98.38% of Yangshengtang's equity and holds the remaining 1.62% through Hangzhou Youfu. Hangzhou Jiushi is a subsidiary of Yangshengtang, and Yangshengtang holds 99.75% of its shares.

After the completion of the transaction, Yangshengtang and Hangzhou Jiushi will hold 5.87% and 4.71% of Jinbo Biotech's shares respectively, becoming the second and third largest shareholders of Jinbo Biotech. Zhong Shanshan will indirectly control 10.58% of Jinbo Biotech's shares, second only to Yang Xia in terms of shareholding ratio.

On the day after the announcement, Jinbo Biotech opened higher at 339 yuan per share. As of the close of the day, it rose 8.67% to close at 348.8 yuan per share, with a total market value of 40.135 billion yuan.

As the helmsman of Jinbo Biotech, Yang Xia was previously a teacher at Shanxi Medical University. She founded Jinbo Biotech in 2008 and began to explore the field of humanized collagen, experiencing the entire process of the emergence and development of recombinant humanized collagen in China from scratch.

Under her leadership, Jinbo Biotech achieved the approval of China's first injection - grade recombinant humanized collagen. In June 2021, Jinbo Biotech's terminal brand for injection, "VYRM", was approved by the National Medical Products Administration and obtained the license for "Class III medical devices", solving the key technical problems of high - end injectables in the collagen field.

In July 2023, Jinbo Biotech went public on the capital market, becoming the "first stock of recombinant collagen" on the Beijing Stock Exchange. Its highest market value in that year exceeded 20 billion yuan. From the beginning of 2025 to date, the maximum increase in Jinbo Biotech's stock price has exceeded 100%. As of the close on June 30, the total market value was 40.959 billion yuan.

As the founder, Yang Xia's net worth has soared. In the "Hurun Global Rich List 2025", Yang Xia ranked as the richest woman in Shanxi with a net worth of 11.5 billion yuan.

Zhong Shanshan's strategic layout of Jinbo Biotech through Yangshengtang not only continues the expansion of his capital map in the big - health field but also cuts into the current golden opportunity in the biotech track.

China's Former Richest Man Seeks New Growth Paths

In the ever - changing Chinese business landscape, Zhong Shanshan is undoubtedly a legendary figure. From starting from scratch to becoming the richest man in China, the wealth story he created has become a business legend. In October 2021, Zhong Shanshan topped the Hurun Rich List for the first time with a personal wealth of 390 billion yuan and has retained the title for several years.

Behind this wealth myth is closely related to the capital maps of two companies. Zhong Shanshan's wealth is highly concentrated in Nongfu Spring and Wantai Biopharmaceutical, and he holds an absolute controlling stake in both companies.

2020 was a crucial year for Zhong Shanshan's capital map. In April, Wantai Biopharmaceutical was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. After 26 daily limit up movements, its market value soared to nearly 60 billion yuan. In September of the same year, Nongfu Spring was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a total market value exceeding 400 billion yuan at one point. However, the capital market is volatile. In recent years, both Nongfu Spring and Wantai Biopharmaceutical have faced pressure on their performance, and the former growth myth is facing challenges.

In 2024, Nongfu Spring experienced multiple public opinion storms, and its bottled water business, the foundation of its business, began to shake. The sales of Nongfu Spring's bottled water dropped significantly by 21.3% to 15.95 billion yuan. In terms of revenue, Nongfu Spring achieved an operating income of 42.896 billion yuan in 2024, with a year - on - year increase of only 0.5%. The net profit was 12.123 billion yuan, with a year - on - year increase of only 0.40%.

Wantai Biopharmaceutical's performance curve has shown more significant fluctuations. According to Wantai Biopharmaceutical's annual report, after the company's revenue reached a peak of 10 billion yuan in 2022, it began to decline. In 2024, the company's operating income was 2.245 billion yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 59.25% compared with 2023. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 106 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 91.49%.

At this time, Jinbo Biotech, which has emerged in the field of recombinant collagen with outstanding performance, has become a key move in Zhong Shanshan's future layout.

Looking at the long - term performance, Jinbo Biotech's performance has achieved high - speed growth for several consecutive years. In 2024, Jinbo Biotech's revenue and net profit attributable to the parent company were 1.443 billion yuan and 732 million yuan respectively, with year - on - year increases of 84.92% and 144.27% respectively.

In the first quarter of 2025, the company achieved an operating income of 366 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 62.51%. The net profit attributable to the parent company was 169 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 66.25%. The non - recurring net profit attributable to the parent company was 167 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 70.92%.

Source: Screenshot from Baidu Stock Market

It is worth noting that the outstanding performance may only be the key to attracting Zhong Shanshan to enter the market, and strategic synergy is the ultimate goal of both parties.

Jinbo Biotech said bluntly, "The company is at the international leading level in the field of recombinant humanized collagen and is currently the only enterprise in this field that has achieved a technological breakthrough in implant - grade Class III medical devices and completed industrialization. At present, the company urgently needs to build a large - scale industrial production system and establish a promotion, sales, and channel management system for a wider range of consumers through strategic cooperation."

Two listed companies under Yangshengtang, Nongfu Spring and Wantai Biopharmaceutical, are respectively the leader in China's drinking water and beverage field and the first company in China to independently develop an HPV vaccine. They have a mature large - scale industrial production system, a systematic commercialization path for consumer products, and perfect market channel construction and maintenance capabilities. At the same time, they have a deep understanding and mature experience in the R & D and large - scale production of serious medical products.

In short, the cooperation between Jinbo Biotech and Yangshengtang will produce business synergy effects. The former can break through the bottlenecks of production capacity and commercialization by leveraging the latter's mature industrial production system and market channels. The latter's business also involves the fields of biopharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and after taking a stake, it can make efforts in the recombinant collagen market.

All along, Zhong Shanshan has used Yangshengtang Co., Ltd. as the core platform to continuously look for potential enterprises in the big - health field for investment and layout, extending his investment tentacles. In Zhong Shanshan's investment matrix, private equity funds are also an important part.

As early as 2010, Yangshengtang Co., Ltd. invested in Zheshang Fund, which officially opened for operation in October of the same year. In addition to Yangshengtang, the shareholders also include Minsheng Life Insurance Co., Ltd. and Zheshang Securities Co., Ltd. In 2021, "Guanzi Private Equity Fund Management (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd." completed the filing registration. The private equity fund is wholly - owned by Yangshengtang Co., Ltd., and its actual controller is Zhong Shanshan.

The latest development is that on June 30, IFBH, the parent company of if coconut water, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Daohe Chengguang Private Equity appeared on the list of shareholders, and Zhong Shanshan holds 30% or more of the equity of this private equity fund, showing another new move in his capital layout.

From water and beverages on the consumer side to vaccines in biomedicine and then to private equity investment, Zhong Shanshan has continuously built a diversified and precise investment network with Yangshengtang as the fulcrum. In the future, with the changes in the market and consumer demand, he may continue his investment strategy and expand the boundaries of his wealth empire.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Lieyun Selection", author: Han Wenjing. Republished by 36Kr with permission.