After Three Years of Negotiations, Finalized! China Tunnel Engineering Takes 3.5 Billion Yuan, Securing Over Half of China Energy Engineering's Private Placement, Mysterious "Bull Investor" Wang Zixu Subscribes for Approximately 300 Million Yuan

Everyday Economic News Reporter | Cai Ding Everyday Economic News Editor | Chen Junjie

Tunneling Co., Ltd. (SH600820, stock price 6.36 yuan, market value 19.996 billion yuan) announced on the evening of March 19 that the company used approximately 3.5 billion yuan of self-raised funds to subscribe at a price of 2.55 yuan per share for about 1.373 billion A-shares issued by China Energy Construction (SH601868) to specific investors, accounting for 3.1% of China Energy Construction’s total share capital after issuance.

According to the announcement, this transaction does not involve related-party transactions, does not constitute a major asset restructuring, and does not require approval from the company’s shareholders’ meeting. The shares of China Energy Construction subscribed to by Tunneling Co., Ltd. in this private placement cannot be transferred within six months from the date of registration and listing. Additionally, China Energy Construction disclosed the allotment results of this private placement in its announcement today (March 19), with Tunneling Co., Ltd. receiving the largest allocation of about 1.373 billion shares among the eight specific investors.

The announcement shows that the subscription agreement between Tunneling Co., Ltd. and China Energy Construction was signed on March 9. However, based on the subscription price of 2.55 yuan per share, it was about 24.11% lower than China Energy Construction’s closing price of 3.36 yuan per share today.

It is worth noting that the total number of shares issued in China Energy Construction’s private placement was about 2.549 billion shares, meaning Tunneling Co., Ltd. alone accounted for 53.85%.

Tunneling Co., Ltd. states that China Energy Construction has a deep historical foundation and a prominent industry position in energy, electricity, and water conservancy sectors, and is a main force in building the national new energy system and green low-carbon transformation. In June 2024, the Shanghai municipal government signed a new round of strategic cooperation agreement with China Energy Construction, covering energy supply, green low-carbon industries, urban construction, and energy infrastructure, to promote comprehensive cooperation and jointly advance the construction of green smart cities.

“Strategic investment in China Energy Construction is an important action for Tunneling Co., Ltd., a state-owned enterprise under Shanghai, to respond to and innovate the central-local cooperation model. It is also a key measure for Tunneling Co., Ltd. to implement the ‘capital-driven’ development strategy, enhance its infrastructure full-business layout, and promote sustainable enterprise development,” Tunneling Co., Ltd. added.

At the same time, Tunneling Co., Ltd. disclosed two major risks, including the possibility that China Energy Construction’s development may not meet expectations and that stock price fluctuations could lead to uncertain returns.

The Daily Economic News reporter noted that the earliest date for China Energy Construction’s private placement can be traced back to February 2023, when the company’s board of directors approved the non-public issuance plan. Subsequently, in March 2023, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) approved the overall plan in principle.

During the process, the company held a board meeting in February 2024 and a shareholders’ meeting in March 2024, extending the validity of the resolutions by 12 months. By June 2024, the company had adjusted the fundraising amount and its use plan. The plan was approved by the Shanghai Stock Exchange in May 2025 and received registration approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) in June 2025, with final fund transfer and capital verification completed in March 2026.

The joint lead underwriters issued subscription invitations to 295 eligible investors, including 16 of the top 20 shareholders, 35 fund companies, 19 securities firms, and 18 insurance companies. Ultimately, 10 investors submitted valid bids.

According to China Energy Construction’s announcement, a total of 8 investors were ultimately allocated shares in this private placement. Besides Tunneling Co., Ltd., CRRC Capital Holdings Co., Ltd. subscribed nearly 750 million yuan, China State-owned Enterprise Restructuring Fund Phase II subscribed about 650 million yuan, and Xuzhou Daren Tongying Management Consulting Partnership subscribed nearly 700 million yuan. Institutions such as Nord Fund, Bank of Communications Life Insurance, and individual Wang Zixu also participated in the subscription.

Image source: China Energy Construction announcement

It should be noted that the individual Wang Zixu mentioned above is a highly active “bullish investor” in the capital markets in recent years, frequently appearing in legal auctions and secondary markets, investing hundreds of millions of yuan at a time, though little is publicly known about him. According to other publicly available information, Wang Zixu was born in 2003, is only 23 years old, and resides in Shenyang’s Shenhe District. Based on the first six digits of his ID number, he is from Shenyang.

Image source: China Energy Construction announcement

According to China Energy Construction, Wang Zixu once submitted a maximum subscription price of 2.9 yuan per share, significantly higher than most other subscription prices. In addition to the approximately 300 million yuan he invested in China Energy Construction’s private placement, he also participated in subscribing to 1.2497 million shares of Honghe Technology’s non-public issuance at 40.01 yuan per share, with a total subscription of nearly 50 million yuan.