On Monday, December 29th, with just three days left before the end of 2025, the major event exclusive to Metallurgical Corporation Of China Ltd. (MCC, 601618.SH) finally reached its conclusive moment: the asset sale plan, which had caused a drop of over 10% in MCC's A-shares and a plunge exceeding 20% in its H-shares, was smoothly approved, despite nearly one-quarter of A-shareholders voting against it and more than half of H-shareholders opposing it.
Consequently, the 200,000 opposing votes previously cast by this author against this asset sale and connected transaction proposal have essentially been rendered futile, making no discernible impact.
Judging from the reaction of the secondary market stock price, when trading resumed on Tuesday, A-shares fell approximately 2% and H-shares dropped nearly 5%, without triggering a stampede-like sell-off.
This, to some extent, indicates that the capital market had already fully anticipated the approval of this plan, with the negative impact largely priced in during the initial announcement phase, reflected in the A-share limit-down and the H-share's massive negative candlestick exceeding 20%.
This situation, in turn, highlights the naivety of this author: harboring the notion that, based on normal commercial logic, this asset sale proposal causing significant losses for shareholders might be vetoed under the condition of the major shareholder abstaining from voting, potentially creating a classic case of minority shareholders successfully blocking major shareholder actions in the secondary market.
However, the actual outcome undoubtedly serves as a ruthless mockery and a sharp rebuttal to such a naive judgment.
Now that things have reached this point, this author does not blame MCC, nor does blame the major shareholder, Minmetals Group. A fundamental principle is understood: to achieve growth, one must appreciate and learn from others' strengths while reflecting on and addressing one's own shortcomings.
Take this asset sale plan, for instance; from MCC's perspective, it can hardly be considered wrong. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission's (SASAC) strategy of pushing central SOEs to focus on their core responsibilities and deepen their main businesses for high-quality development is not a recent initiative. The central enterprise leaders' seminar held this July further emphasized "pursuing revenue that highlights the competitiveness and leadership of the main business," indicating that MCC's choice aligns with the guidance of major national policies.
Simultaneously, against the backdrop of enhanced assessments focusing on listed company quality and market value management, the major shareholder Minmetals Group has its own vested interests to consider. Although the announcement of MCC's asset sale plan immediately wiped out nearly ten billion yuan in market capitalization; on the other hand, companies like Minmetals Development (600058.SH) and MMG Limited (1208.HK) saw significant joint surges, fueled by potential asset injection expectations, with MMG's market value alone skyrocketing by approximately 20 billion yuan in December.
For the major shareholder Minmetals Group, it's a matter of weighing different assets under its control; losing some on one hand while potentially gaining more on the other seems not only reasonable but even a shrewd maneuver, doesn't it?
Therefore, the naive judgment and the sharp rebuttal faced by this author cannot be blamed on others; one can only blame oneself for not learning from past mistakes!
As far back as 2017, a connected transaction involving an asset sale occurred at Minmetals Capital (600390.SH), an entity under Minmetals Group. It transferred multiple equity assets, including those in Changyuan Lithium Co., Jinrui Manganese Industry, and Jingui Mining, entirely to the major shareholder and its connected parties, for a total consideration of 1.467 billion yuan; notably, the entire equity of Changyuan Lithium was valued at a mere 132 million yuan.
The subsequent storyline is widely known: after being separated from Minmetals Capital, Changyuan Lithium developed rapidly and achieved an independent listing by August 2021, with its market capitalization once soaring to 60 billion yuan. Even after a prolonged decline and a subsequent name change to Minmetals New Energy (688779.SH), its total market cap remains above 10 billion yuan.
That is to say, the entire equity of Changyuan Lithium, stripped from Minmetals Capital for 132 million yuan and transferred to the major shareholder, achieved an independent listing with a market cap in the tens of billions within just four years.
Conversely, Minmetals Capital's stock price weakened persistently following the announcement of that plan and, to this day, has failed to recover to its pre-asset-sale levels.
This author is also reminded that Warren Buffett has particularly emphasized the importance of a company's management prioritizing shareholder interests, which constitutes a complete logic permeating fundamental stance, institutional design, and daily decision-making. His investment choices seek long-term partnerships based on trust.
Considering the aforementioned case, with the historical precedent so recent, this author still clung to a stubborn belief and illusion about so-called normal commercial logic, which truly warrants self-criticism and deep reflection!
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