Changzhou's richest man, Wang Liping, is detained: From technician to founder of a trillion-yuan hydraulic component leader

Wang Liping, the controlling shareholder and chairman of Hengli Hydraulic (601100.SH), a leading domestic enterprise in the hydraulic industry and the richest person in Changzhou, Jiangsu, which is currently 60 years old, has been detained.

On March 20, Hengli Hydraulic announced that it recently received a notice from the family of its actual controller and chairman, Wang Liping. Wang Liping, in recent days, received an “Filing Notice” and a “Detention Notice” issued by the Jiangsu Provincial Supervisory Commission. Hengli Hydraulic did not disclose the specific reasons for Wang Liping’s detention, nor did it explain whether the matter is related to the listed company itself.

The announcement also states that, at present, the company has made proper arrangements for the relevant work. The company has a sound organizational structure and a standardized governance system. Day-to-day operation and management are handled by the senior management team. The company’s production and operating conditions are normal, and the above matters will not have a major impact on the company’s production and operation.

This sudden incident has pushed Wang Liping and the “hydraulics empire” he built firsthand into the spotlight. Wang Liping was born in February 1966. He has Chinese nationality, no right of permanent residence abroad, a junior college education, and is a senior economist. After graduating from middle school in rural Wuxi, Wang Liping entered a township pneumatic factory as a technician. Beginning in the 1990s, he ventured into the hydraulic cylinder field. In 2005, he formally established Jiangsu Hengli Hydraulic Co., Ltd., and has served as chairman ever since.

The company’s 2024 annual report shows that Wang Liping is still a representative of the 15th People’s Congress of Wujin District, a member of the 12th Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and the vice chairman of the 9th executive committee of the Wujin District Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Hengli Hydraulic’s current headquarters is in Changzhou. According to its official website, after more than 30 years of development, the company has grown from manufacturing hydraulic cylinders into a large-scale comprehensive enterprise integrating hydraulic components, precision castings, hydraulic systems, and other industries. The company has established 7 hydraulic R&D centers and 12 production and manufacturing bases in China, Germany, the United States, and Japan, as well as Mexico. Its products are distributed across many industries such as construction machinery, agricultural machinery, industrial engineering, marine engineering, energy technology, and tunnel engineering. Customers include well-known domestic and international engineering machinery giants such as Caterpillar, Sany Heavy Industry, and XCMG Group.

In 2011, Hengli Hydraulic listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the wealth of the Wang Liping family also rose accordingly. In the “2025 Hurun Rich List,” Wang Liping’s family, with wealth of RMB 86 billion, ranked 54th on the list, up sharply by RMB 36 billion from the previous year. Its ranking also climbed further from 76th, retaining the “Richest Person in Changzhou” title. Hengli Hydraulic’s current ultimate controllers are Wang Liping, Qian Peixin, and Wang Qi (son of Wang Liping and Qian Peixin).

In the first three quarters of last year, Hengli Hydraulic’s operating revenue was RMB 7.790 billion, up 12.31%; and net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was RMB 2.087 billion, up 16.49%. As of the close on March 20, Hengli Hydraulic’s share price closed at RMB 99.67 per share, down 0.55%. Its total market value was approximately RMB 133.6 billion.