Haidilao billionaire’s US$350 million surprise sale sinks shares
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The founding family behind China’s biggest chain of hotpot restaurants sought to sell up to US$353 million (S$446 million) worth of shares.
PHOTO: BT FILE
- The founding family of Haidilao plans to sell US$353 million worth of shares, causing the company's stock to drop 12 per cent, its lowest since March 2022.
- Shu Ping, co-founder and wife of CEO Zhang Yong, is selling 259 million shares at a 6 per cent discount through a family trust vehicle.
- The sale follows China's new tax on offshore trusts, affecting wealthy families' asset management in Hong Kong and Singapore, surprising analysts given recent share purchases by Zhang Yong.
AI generated
BEIJING – The founding family behind China’s biggest chain of hotpot restaurants sought to sell up to US$353 million (S$446 million) worth of shares, sending the firm’s shares down as much as 12 per cent, the lowest level since March 2022.
Shu Ping, a co-founder and wife of Haidilao’s chairman and chief executive Zhang Yong, is offloading 259 million shares through a family trust holding vehicle, according to terms seen by Bloomberg, representing a discount of about 6 per cent or more to the last close.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The term sheet did not disclose the reason for the share sale.
The move comes shortly after China said in July that it will officially begin taxing offshore trusts established by its citizens, closing a longstanding loophole used by wealthy families for asset protection and succession planning.
The changes are reverberating across Hong Kong, Singapore and other major wealth-management hubs, where offshore trusts have long been a favoured vehicle for Chinese entrepreneurs and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
“The news surprised us,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Hildy Ling wrote in a note, adding that Zhang Yong had acquired more shares in May.
The stake sale, which is equivalent to 4.6 per cent of the shares outstanding or 12.2 per cent of the free float, accounts for about 9 per cent of their combined holdings.
Shu Ping’s net worth stands at US$3.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. She controls a 50 per cent stake in Haidilao with her husband through discretionary trusts via holding companies, according to a May 2026 company filing. BLOOMBERG
