A corporate insider's purchase of 150 million Hong Kong dollars, followed by a spouse's cash-out of 2.75 billion, raises questions about the strategy at the hot pot giant.
On September 9, Haidilao (ASX: 6862.HK) filed a voluntary announcement with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, disclosing that SP NP Ltd., a member of the controlling shareholder group, sold 259 million shares at HK$10.62 per share via a block trade on September 8. The sale, representing approximately 4.65% of total share capital, raised roughly HK$2.75 billion. According to the ownership structure in the announcement, SP NP Ltd. is ultimately controlled by the Rose Trust, established by Shu Ping, who is the wife of Haidilao founder Zhang Yong.
The market's reaction was swift and severe. On September 9, Haidilao's stock price plunged at the open, hitting an intraday low of HK$10.00, a drop of over 12% and marking the lowest point since March 2022. The shares closed at HK$10.34, down 9.14%, bringing the total market capitalization to HK$57.635 billion.
This latest move contrasts sharply with an action just months earlier. On May 22, Zhang Yong purchased 11.35 million shares at HK$13.39 per share, spending about HK$152 million. That announcement had cited "confidence in the Group's overall development prospects and potential growth." The juxtaposition of a modest buy-in by the boss and a massive, discounted sell-off by his wife has left investors questioning the couple's intentions. By the close of trading on September 11, shares had recovered slightly to HK$10.06, up 1.46%, with a market value of HK$56.074 billion.
When placed side-by-side, the contrasting financial moves are stark. In May, Zhang Yong had just been reinstated as CEO in January after a nearly four-year hiatus, and his share purchase was widely interpreted as a show of support for his return. However, the scale and price of the transactions differ significantly. Shu Ping's selling price of HK$10.62 per share is about 20% lower than Zhang Yong's May purchase price of HK$13.39. The 259 million shares Shu Ping sold are roughly 23 times the 11.35 million shares Zhang Yong bought. This block trade was executed at a 6.7% discount to the previous day's closing price of HK$11.38, a clear markdown.
Industry analysts have weighed in on the sale. China Food Industry Analyst Zhu Danpeng noted that while Haidilao's major shareholder is familiar with capital markets and aware that a share sale could disturb the stock price, the decision to proceed might relate to new project investments or other funding needs. However, he added that the true reason remains unconfirmed, and from a purely transactional standpoint, it could be considered normal shareholder behavior. Morgan Stanley, in contrast, described the reduction as "surprising to the market," calculating that the proceeds from Shu Ping's sale roughly equate to 31% of the total dividends received by Zhang Yong and Shu Ping since the company's listing.
Haidilao has stated that the sale is purely for SP NP Ltd.'s own financial needs and arrangements, classifying it as a personal matter at the shareholder level, unrelated to the group's business, operations, financial condition, or development prospects. The announcement also reaffirmed the controlling shareholder's confidence in the group's business outlook and long-term value. This is not the first time the founding team has cashed out. In May 2025, SP NP Ltd. and LHY NP Ltd., held by the Shi Yonghong couple, placed 47 million shares at HK$33.2 each, raising approximately HK$1.56 billion, with the company citing "funding arrangements for public welfare and other purposes" at the time.
The timing of this latest transaction is drawing particular scrutiny. On July 24, China's Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration jointly issued new rules on individual income tax for offshore trusts. This is the first systematic regulation targeting such structures, applying retroactively. The rules, effective immediately, include a 90-day transition window for existing trusts, requiring relevant parties to declare and pay any unpaid taxes on assets placed into these trusts since 2023 by October 22. Failure to do so could result in late fees.
In essence, the new regulation aims to pierce the veil of offshore trust structures, allowing tax authorities to directly levy personal income tax on actual beneficiaries for trust asset gains and distributions. Previously, some high-net-worth individuals used offshore discretionary trusts to hold assets, creating a tax blind spot. The new rules are designed to close that gap. Zhang Yong's family has long held shares in Haidilao through two trusts: Apple Trust, established by Zhang Yong with UBS Trust (BVI) as trustee, with a stake of about 47.84%, and Rose Trust, set up by Shu Ping with the same trustee and a holding of approximately 14.85%. The SP NP Ltd. entity that sold shares is held via a nominee company under the Rose Trust. Both Zhang Yong and Shu Ping have held Singaporean citizenship since the company's listing in 2018, making their BVI trust structure subject to the new mainland Chinese tax rules.
The sale on September 8 falls squarely between the July 24 regulations and the October 22 compliance deadline, fueling speculation that the HK$2.75 billion transaction is a way to raise funds for potential tax liabilities. Citigroup economist Yu Xiangrong has suggested that Hong Kong-listed stocks could be a significantly affected asset class, as founders of some mainland companies hold shares through trusts. He noted that the retroactive 90-day window could trigger "forced or precautionary selling" to raise funds for compliance. Analysts at Eurasia Group's senior analyst Zhao Zhengwei anticipate a "one-off, episodic selling pressure rather than a sustained market crash." Legal experts like Huang Lijun, a senior partner at Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, have pointed out that using trust funds to pay tax bills could itself trigger additional tax burdens. While linking the share sale directly to tax payments remains speculative, the circumstances suggest potential financial pressures known only to insiders.
This divestment saga comes roughly eight months into Zhang Yong's second tenure as CEO. He returned to a company showing an earnings recovery but with fundamentals under pressure. The competitive landscape for hot pot has intensified, with niche brands and affordable offerings eroding Haidilao's service-centric advantage. The 2026 interim results show revenue of RMB 22.337 billion, up 7.9% year-on-year, and core operating profit of RMB 2.513 billion, up 4.4%. However, net profit attributable to shareholders grew only marginally by 0.5%, with average spending per customer dipping from RMB 97.9 to RMB 97. More concerning is the shrinkage of the core business: restaurant operating revenue fell about 4% year-on-year, with a reduction in self-operated restaurant count. Growth is being driven by new ventures like delivery, which saw revenue surge 121.2% to RMB 2.051 billion, now representing 9.2% of total revenue, and multi-brand dining, up 113.1% to RMB 1.271 billion.
Panhe Think Tank senior researcher Jiang Han notes that while Haidilao once stood alone in the hot pot sector on service quality, various sub-brands are now diverting customers, making its differentiated service less of a decisive advantage. Simultaneously, rising upstream ingredient costs, increasing labor expenses, and thin margins in new businesses like delivery and prepared foods are slowing the company's overall profitability recovery more than the market had anticipated. The "Red Pomegranate Plan," launched in August 2024 to incubate new dining brands, has shifted from scale expansion to efficiency improvement. As of the end of June 2026, the number of other brands decreased to 21, with store count down to 183, a net closure of 24 stores in six months. Once-highlighted projects like Yanqing BBQ now receive less mention in financial reports. Chief Growth Officer Zhou Haoyun stated that after a systematic review, the company is focusing resources on promising, market-validated projects rather than pursuing broad expansion. Jiang Han assesses the plan's effectiveness as limited, with only a few sub-brands achieving a stable footing.
Zhang Yong's personal wealth has mirrored the company's fortunes. He was Singapore's richest person in 2019 and 2020, with a global ranking of 38th in 2021 with a net worth of RMB 245 billion. By March 2026, his wealth had declined to RMB 63.5 billion, dropping him to 425th globally, according to the Hurun Global Rich List. From CEO to former CEO and back again, Zhang Yong now faces his most familiar yet challenging battle. The wife's cash-out and the husband's public vote of confidence are scenes the capital markets have witnessed many times. The ultimate test for Haidilao isn't a single share transaction or a slogan, but whether the growth from delivery and new brands can fill the void left by declining main-brand restaurant performance and bridge the persistent profitability gap. Zhang Yong's "second startup" appears to be a harder challenge to resolve than any single share sale.