Accumulated wealth of 77 billion yuan, Sichuan father and daughter plan another Hong Kong stock IPO

Source: Caijing News

On March 13, Southwest Dairy Industry leader New Hope Dairy Co., Ltd. (referred to as “New Dairy”) continued to open lower, closing at 17.91 yuan per share, down 0.78%, with a total market value of 15.415 billion yuan.

The day before, the stock experienced a significant fluctuation. On March 12, after the market opened, New Dairy’s stock price quickly fell, hitting the daily limit at one point during trading. By the close that afternoon, the stock was at 18.05 yuan per share, a decline of 9.21%.

Market consensus generally links this wave of stock volatility to the company’s sudden announcement of plans to list in Hong Kong.

01

Seven years after listing on A-shares,

Planning to list in Hong Kong again

On the evening of March 11, New Dairy announced that the company plans to issue overseas listed foreign shares (H-shares) and list on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The announcement states that this move aims to meet the company’s business development needs, deepen the internationalization strategy, build an international capital operation platform, and further enhance capital strength.

The company also said it intends to appoint KPMG Huazhen Certified Public Accountants as the auditor for this issuance and listing.

In fact, New Dairy’s plan to go public in Hong Kong is not a sudden decision.

Public information shows that New Dairy was established in 2006, initially as a dairy division under Sichuan private enterprise New Hope Group. In 2011, this division was spun off from the group and listed in 2019.

As early as the end of 2013, the predecessor of New Dairy—New Hope Dairy Holdings Limited—had preliminarily drafted a Hong Kong red-chip listing strategy, which was approved by relevant parties and launched in the second half of 2014.

In 2015, the company completed the setup of its offshore red-chip structure. However, due to changes in market conditions and strategic adjustments, New Hope Dairy Holdings did not submit a listing application to overseas regulators.

In early 2016, after reassessment by shareholders and management, it was believed that the main consumer base and future development strategy still primarily targeted the domestic market, and that the A-share market was more favorable for the company’s valuation and long-term growth.

Therefore, New Hope Dairy Holdings decided to abandon its original offshore listing plan, dismantle the red-chip structure, and pursue an A-share listing.

By the end of 2016, New Hope Dairy Holdings was restructured into a joint-stock company. In early 2017, New Dairy signed an IPO guidance agreement with China International Capital Corporation, officially initiating its A-share IPO.

In September 2018, New Dairy successfully passed the review, and in January 2019, it officially listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s SME Board.

Now, after seven years of listing on the A-shares market, the company is once again eyeing the Hong Kong capital market.

If successful, New Dairy will become the first dairy company in China to establish a “A+H” dual-capital platform.

Previously, several dairy companies have listed in Hong Kong, such as Mengniu Dairy (02319.HK), China Feihe (06186.HK), and Yurun Food (09858.HK).

Additionally, on January 19, Junlebao submitted an application for a main board listing to HKEX, officially initiating its Hong Kong IPO process.

02

Liu Yonghao family wealth of 77 billion yuan,

Multiple listed companies under their control

New Dairy is a company focused on the research, production, and sales of dairy products and dairy beverages, covering categories such as liquid milk, dairy drinks, and milk powder.

Financial data shows that from 2022 to 2024, the company’s revenue was 10.006 billion yuan, 10.987 billion yuan, and 10.665 billion yuan respectively; net profit attributable to shareholders was 361 million yuan, 431 million yuan, and 538 million yuan in the same period.

In the first three quarters of 2025, the company achieved revenue of 8.434 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.49%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 623 million yuan, up 31.48% year-on-year.

In terms of ownership structure, New Dairy has long been controlled by the family of Liu Yonghao, founder and chairman of New Hope Group.

As of the end of Q3 2025, the company’s controlling shareholder is Universal Dairy Limited (UDL), registered in Hong Kong, holding 65.07%. UDL is fully controlled by Liu Yonghao’s daughter, Liu Chang.

In addition, New Hope Investment Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as “New Hope Investment”) holds about 11.42%. Through multiple layers of shareholding, this company is also 100% controlled by Liu Yonghao.

Therefore, Liu Chang and her father Liu Yonghao are the actual joint controllers of New Dairy.

The “2026 Hurun Global Rich List” released on March 5 shows Liu Yonghao’s family wealth at 77 billion yuan, ranking 299th globally.

It is noteworthy that since its listing in 2019, Liu Yonghao’s family has not reduced their holdings in New Dairy. In June 2025, UDL disclosed plans to reduce its stake by 3%, but this was not implemented.

Currently, besides New Dairy, Liu Yonghao and his daughter also control three other listed companies: New Hope Liuhe (000876.SZ), Huaron Chemical (301256.SZ), and New Hope Services (03658.HK).

According to publicly available resumes, Liu Chang was born in 1980, holds Singapore nationality, and has an EMBA degree.

She currently serves as a director of New Dairy, chairman of New Hope Liuhe, and also holds positions as director of New Hope Group and chairman of New Hope Investment.

According to a report by China Economic Weekly in August 2024, Liu Chang was rigorously trained by her father Liu Yonghao from a young age. She studied in the U.S. at age 16, returned in 2001 after graduation, and joined New Hope Group in 2002, starting from grassroots positions.

In an interview, Liu Yonghao revealed that Liu Chang initially worked at a New Hope factory under the name “Li Tianmei,” and hardly anyone knew her true identity at the time.

Over the next ten years, Liu Chang quietly gained experience within the group until she was officially introduced to the public in 2011.

In May 2013, she succeeded her father as chairwoman of New Hope Liuhe. In May 2023, Liu Chang became chairwoman of New Hope Investment, taking over the family’s investment business from her father.

03

Invested in a unicorn,

Traditional companies embracing AI

Just as New Dairy announced plans to list in Hong Kong, Liu Yonghao’s group appeared on the investment list of an AI unicorn, attracting attention.

On March 11, Guanglun Intelligent (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Guanglun Intelligent”) announced the completion of a 1 billion yuan Series A++ and A+++ funding round.

Guanglun Intelligent disclosed that investors in this round include New Hope Group, Dingbang Investment (family office of Sanan Optoelectronics chairman), AUX, Dingstone Capital, and institutions such as Jiantou Huake and Guofang Innovation.

After the funding, Guanglun Intelligent became the world’s first unicorn in the field of embodied data.

Founded in January 2023, Guanglun Intelligent focuses on providing physical AI simulation and data infrastructure platforms.

The company’s founder and CEO is Xie Chen, who previously worked in autonomous driving simulation at Nvidia, Cruise, and NIO.

According to the company, its revenue in 2025 is expected to grow tenfold, and its first-quarter 2026 revenue is projected to surpass the total for all of 2025.

This AI investment indicates that New Hope Group is actively embracing AI.

On the morning of March 11, the Fourth Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference concluded. Liu Yonghao, a CPPCC member, mentioned that the most impressive keyword from this year’s two sessions was “technology.”

Liu Yonghao stated that in the context of increasingly fierce technological competition, China must not fall behind in relevant fields, and enterprises need to keep pace.

He emphasized that especially for traditional companies, leveraging new technologies like artificial intelligence to empower themselves is the future development path, and “we must make a difference.”

This philosophy is already reflected in New Dairy’s specific business practices.

For example, relying on a self-developed order forecasting system, New Dairy has built a big data platform that uses AI algorithms to analyze historical sales, weather, promotions, and other variables to accurately forecast hourly demand for fresh milk at each store, ensuring that stores only sell that day’s fresh milk.