The chairman of a well - known robotics company has demanded a monthly salary of 2 million yuan and once asked for a nine - figure year - end bonus. The investors are furious and have decided to remove him. The company has been making losses for three and a half years.
Recently, NBD (National Business Daily) exclusively reported that Yin Rongzao, the boss of well - known robot enterprise Bolant Robot, proposed to pay himself a fixed monthly salary of 2 million yuan, which was "confronted" by investor Junlan Investment, who directly pointed out that he was emptying the company. This news sparked heated discussions in the industry and hit the hot search.
However, in the revenue data of Bolant in recent years disclosed simultaneously, the data we see is as follows:
That is to say, from 2020 to 2023, Bolant's operating income and net profit have been continuously declining. The operating income has dropped from 447 million yuan and the net profit from 73.833 million yuan to 201 million yuan in 2023 and a loss of 125 million yuan, showing an astonishing decline in performance. In 2024, there was a slight recovery, but it was still in a loss state. It was not until the first half of this year that the loss was significantly narrowed.
Why did Yin Rongzao put forward such a request? Why did the investor stand up and scold him? What's the hidden story behind all this? On August 14th, a reporter from NBD (hereinafter referred to as NBD) had an exclusive interview with the person involved - Li Bozheng, the representative of Junlan Investment, trying to restore more truths.
Li Bozheng told the reporter in the interview that Yin Rongzao's proposal to the board of directors to pay himself a fixed monthly salary of 2 million yuan was not a joke. Before that, he also asked for a nine - figure year - end bonus. The reason for his "crazy" behavior is that the "Rongzao No.1 Fund" has recently completed liquidation, and Yin Rongzao is about to lose the 40% voting rights he previously obtained through the fund packaging. However, as a well - known robot enterprise in the industry, Bolant's business condition has actually been relatively good, and its shipment volume ranks among the top in the industry. "Bolant is Bolant, and Yin Rongzao is Yin Rongzao."
It is understood that Bolant will hold its first extraordinary general meeting of shareholders this year on August 18th. An important item on the agenda is to amend the company's articles of association. The result at that time may have a significant impact on the future development of this company.
"A Fixed Monthly Salary of 2 Million Yuan" Is Not a Joke, and He Also Proposed a Nine - Figure Year - End Bonus
NBD: The matter that Yin Rongzao, the chairman and general manager of Bolant, recently proposed a fixed monthly salary of 2 million yuan to the board of directors has attracted wide attention. Is this a means of his game with the shareholders?
Li Bozheng: Actually, it's not. He really wants to get it passed through the board meeting. Don't look at what he says, just look at what he does, because all his actions are public.
In July 2025, Yin Rongzao proposed a motion to the board of directors, demanding that "from now on, for all the net profits of the company in the next ten years, after subtracting one yuan each year, the rest will all be used as the bonus for Yin Rongzao, the chairman and general manager." After being opposed, he then proposed the idea of a fixed monthly salary of 2 million yuan.
Actually, before that, he kept asking for a nine - figure year - end bonus in the group. Bolant Robot was established in 2008 and has been around for 16 years. If it was 16 years ago, most of the time, the directors would let him do as he pleased. This time, the directors really voted against it, which he didn't expect. And a shareholder with a 3% stake (Note: referring to Junlan Investment) wanted to amend the company's articles of association and issued a public call for shareholders to vote. He didn't take it seriously at first, but we can only say that justice lies in the hearts of the people.
NBD: Then why did he do this?
Li Bozheng: In addition to holding 21.65% of Bolant's equity himself, Yin Rongzao previously controlled about 40% of the voting rights through the "Rongzao No.1 Fund" and became the largest single shareholder. Most of the money in this fund was not his, but all the voting rights were given to him.
From March 12, 2024, to April 2025, he amended the company's articles of association four times in total. The previous amendments were quite strange. He even wrote songs into the articles of association. Although the shareholders thought it was really unsightly, they didn't interfere too much. In April this year, he amended the articles of association, stipulating that directors must be full - time employees "who have signed labor contracts with the company." This means that without Yin Rongzao's consent, shareholders can no longer send director representatives to safeguard their rights, even if they hold a large number of shares.
Recently, the "Rongzao No.1 Fund" has completed liquidation, and all the shares have been transferred through non - trading transfer on the stock transfer system. All the voting rights have returned to the original investors, and Yin Rongzao has lost control of Bolant. This is the reason for his extreme "antics" such as "luxury cars, proposals, and amending the articles of association" recently.
"Bolant is Bolant, and Yin Rongzao is Yin Rongzao"
NBD: Why did Junlan Investment choose to invest in Bolant in the early days?
Li Bozheng: We learned about Bolant Robot in 2015. At that time, the company was making robotic arms. After our investigation, we were quite impressed. Because Bolant's supply chain and the whole company were very simple, with obvious cost and procurement advantages, and the shipment volume was really large.
From the reports of GGII (Gongkong Industry Institute) or relevant robot industry reports, we can see that the sales volume of Bolant's robotic arms was increasing from 2013 to 2015, and it always had a positive net cash profit. However, we had two concerns at that time. One was how far the chairman could lead the company, and the other was that the company was transforming from robotic arms to robots. So we didn't make an investment at that time. It wasn't until 2018 and 2019, when the company's robots started to gain popularity in the market and the feedback was good, that we started to invest.
Actually, the robot industry has been booming for ten years. It's not that the valuations are high only now. There were many companies with valuations of 2 billion or 3 billion yuan at that time. In contrast, Bolant already had a mature market, relatively high sales volume, and a relatively low valuation of about 1 billion yuan.
At that time, Yin Rongzao's personal style was not as exaggerated as it is now. When the company was small, his explanation to us was that he wanted to gain more attention and market share. Since he was from a sales background, we could understand that. However, in the past two or three years, he has changed a lot. An important turning point was that Bolant Robot was issued audit reports with an inability to express an opinion by accounting firms twice and was later delisted. Another was that the "Rongzao No.1 Fund" expired, and his control became unstable.
NBD: How do you view the relationship between Bolant Robot and Yin Rongzao?
Li Bozheng: From the company's perspective, we always believe that Bolant is Bolant, and Yin Rongzao is Yin Rongzao. According to the company's semi - annual report this year, Bolant still has 150 million yuan in cash on its books and no bank liabilities, which is very rare. Our statistics show that in the robot body industry, Bolant ranks third in terms of domestic shipment volume. In the shipment volume announced in July, more than 8,700 robot bodies were sold.
It's Most Appropriate for the Investor to Step Forward: We Are in High Agreement with the Company's Management
NBD: Junlan Investment is the tenth - largest shareholder of Bolant. Why did you step forward to call for the general meeting of shareholders?
Li Bozheng: It's most appropriate for us to step forward because we are neutral and objective, and it will cause the least harm to the company. Moreover, the investors are in high agreement with the company's management except for Yin Rongzao.
Now, Bolant's situation is like "half water and half fire." Yin Rongzao and other management members don't even work in the same place. The information released through public channels such as the company's official website and official WeChat account is also highly fragmented. As the chairman, Yin Rongzao even broadcasts live on short - video platforms every day.
If the investors don't step forward this time, all the company's management will really leave, which will be a huge loss and a situation that no one wants to see.
NBD: What plans do the investors have for the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on August 18th? What are the development plans for Bolant in the future?
Li Bozheng: We are quite confident about the result of the general meeting of shareholders, but at the same time, we feel a bit sad. We have to gather more than two - thirds of the shareholders to amend a very unreasonable article in the company's articles of association and finally achieve the result of removing Yin Rongzao. We hope this matter can be resolved as soon as possible so that some people won't continue to harm the enterprise.
In terms of the company's future development, in the words of the current management team, it is to downplay the individual, strengthen the company, have more R & D achievements in the future, and become a real and normal robot enterprise. It's that simple and straightforward.
(Disclaimer: The content and data in this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Investors should operate at their own risk.)
This article is from the WeChat official account "National Business Daily". Author: Li Lei, Editors: Duan Lian, Xiao Ruidong, Gai Yuanyuan, Proofreader: He Xiaotao. Republished by 36Kr with permission.