Huang Jian is proposed to be appointed as Chairman of Lian Life Insurance. The company plans to spend nearly 900 million yuan to acquire a 5% stake in Zhongshan Public at a premium, reaching a takeover.

Whale News April 1st Report (Reporter Chen Xiaojuan)

Recently, Lian Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Lian Life”) announced the election of Huang Jian as Chairman. Zhou Junshu retired due to age and no longer serves as the company’s Chairman and Director.

(Source: Lian Life Announcement)

Notably, Lian Life completed a CEO transition last year. With the new leadership team in place, the company’s future development path has attracted market attention. In 2022, Lian Life proposed the goal of “rebuilding Lian Life in three years and striving for an early listing,” planning to surpass one trillion yuan in total assets by 2023 and actively promote the IPO process. Now, after three years, the company’s total assets have exceeded the trillion-yuan threshold, but there has been no substantial progress in the IPO process. In terms of performance, Lian Life aims to achieve premium income of 25.25B yuan and a net profit of 227 million yuan by 2025.

Meanwhile, Lian Life has also taken new steps in external investments. Zhongshan Public Utilities (000685.SZ) announced last night that Lian Life has become the final transferee of a 5% stake in the company, with a transfer price not less than 12.19 yuan per share, and the transaction amount is expected to be no less than 899 million yuan. Based on Zhongshan Public Utilities’ closing price today, the premium is roughly 9.6%, and Lian Life may also make another bid for a listed company.

Company welcomed new CEO last year, with frequent compliance issues

From the background, Huang Jian has a strong professional financial background, with management experience in securities, futures, and other fields, making him a typical “practical” finance expert.

His previous roles include staff at Jiangsu Guoxin Group’s Finance Department; Assistant Finance Manager and Finance Manager at Jiangsu Shahe Pumped Storage Power Generation Co., Ltd.; Assistant Manager at Xintai Securities Custody Center; work in Huatai Securities’ Planning and Finance Department (restructuring period, role unspecified); Financial Director, Board Secretary, Vice General Manager at Jintai Futures; General Manager of Jiangsu Branch of Windy Securities (rights protection); Vice General Manager of Jintai Futures; Deputy General Manager of Jiangsu Guoxin Group’s Capital Operation Department; General Manager of Capital Operation Department; and General Manager of Capital and Financial Departments. From January to March 2026, he served as Party Secretary of Lian Life.

In June last year, Lian Life appointed Yan Weijin as the new CEO. Yan Weijin is a founding veteran of Lian Life, involved in its preparatory work, and previously served as interim leader, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Investment Officer.

Therefore, Lian Life is about to enter a new leadership era with the “Huang-Yan” pairing. In February this year, Huang Jian attended the company’s “First Spring Meeting” as Party Secretary and pointed out that by 2026, the company aims to focus on improving asset-liability management, accelerate efficiency and value enhancement, consolidate risk defenses, and promote sustainable and steady operations.

In terms of performance, Lian Life has recently turned profitable. According to data, from 2022 to 2024, under consolidated accounting, Lian Life achieved premium income of 19.39B yuan, 22.02B yuan, and 24.46B yuan respectively; net profits for the same period were -2.76B yuan, 39 million yuan, and 48 million yuan.

According to the solvency report, in 2025, Lian Life is expected to achieve premium income of 25.25B yuan and a net profit of 227M yuan. The annual net profit mainly came from the fourth quarter, with a single quarter net profit of 203 million yuan.

Additionally, issues related to compliance are also noteworthy. According to quarterly solvency reports, in 2025, Lian Life and its branches were fined a total of 1.6674 million yuan (excluding penalties on individuals). Penalties included falsified documentation, irregular marketing training management, inadequate “dual-record” management, fictitious expenses, fictitious intermediaries, and fictitious policies.

Premium acquisition of Zhongshan Public Utilities shares, with potential for a bid

While improving corporate governance, Lian Life’s investment footprint continues to expand.

Notably, last night, Zhongshan Public Utilities disclosed the latest progress in the transfer of shares by its controlling shareholder, Zhongshan Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Zhongshan Investment”). Lian Life has been confirmed as the final transferee. The announcement states that Zhongshan Investment currently holds about 719 million shares of Zhongshan Public Utilities, accounting for 48.73%.

According to previous announcements, Zhongshan Investment plans to transfer approximately 74 million shares, representing 5% of the company’s total share capital, through a public solicitation process, at a price not less than 12.19 yuan per share. The transaction amount is estimated to be no less than 899 million yuan.

Zhongshan Public Utilities’ closing price today is 11.12 yuan per share. Based on this, the premium rate for Lian Life’s acquisition is about 9.6%. As of the end of Q3 last year, Lian Life held a 3.53% stake in Zhongshan Public Utilities. If the transfer completes, Lian Life will trigger a mandatory bid.

Market views suggest that the reason for Lian Life’s premium acquisition may be related to Zhongshan Public Utilities’ strong performance. Its earnings forecast indicates an expected net profit attributable to the parent of 1.8B to 2.16B yuan for the full year, representing a year-over-year increase of 50%-80%.

In fact, in recent years, Lian Life has frequently increased holdings and made bids on multiple listed companies. In July 2025, Lian Life bought 1.1 million shares of Jiangnan Water Affairs (601199.SH), increasing its total holdings to 46.9954 million shares, raising its stake from 4.91% to 5.03%, triggering a bid; in November 2024, it bought 500k shares of Shenzhen International (0152.HK), increasing its stake from 4.98% to 5.00%, also triggering a bid.

Additionally, Lian Life holds stocks in Wuxi Bank (600908.SH), Changshu Bank (601128.SH), Anhui Natural Gas (603689.SH), among others, ranking among the top ten shareholders, favoring stable, high-dividend stocks in banking and utilities sectors.

Data shows that in 2025, Lian Life’s cumulative return on net assets was 3.59%, total asset return was 0.18%, investment return was 5.56%, and cumulative comprehensive investment return was 2.46%. The average investment return over the past three years was 3.90%, with an average comprehensive investment return of 4.84%.