The semi-annual report of China Minsheng Banking Corp.,Ltd. (SSE: 600016) released recently has revealed a significant shift in the voting powers of one of its board members. According to the report, director Shi Yuzhu, whose voting rights had been previously restricted, successfully regained them in July this year. This change came after he lifted the pledge on his indirect shareholdings in the bank, as reported by Jintong News.
Since the formation of the new board in June 2024, it has encountered a series of challenges. Over the past two years, the board has seen Vice Chairman Zhang Hongwei resign citing "personal health reasons", director Zhao Peng step down for "personal reasons", and the co-option of director Zheng Haiyang. With Shi Yuzhu's voting rights now fully restored, the current board, which has less than a year remaining in its term, can finally be considered functionally complete.
However, the semi-annual report also discloses that in April of this year, Shi Yuzhu was subjected to administrative regulatory measures by the Chongqing bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), specifically a warning letter. Beyond this warning, controversy surrounds the fact that Shi Yuzhu continued to receive a substantial director's salary during the period his voting rights were suspended. In 2025, he received a pre-tax salary of 695,000 yuan from the bank, and his annual director performance evaluation was still rated as "competent".
Notably, from the inception of the current board, China Minsheng Banking Corp.,Ltd. never publicly disclosed the restriction on Shi Yuzhu's voting rights. This is in stark contrast to the situation of former director and Vice Chairman Lu Zhiqiang in the previous board, whose voting rights were officially stated to be restricted because his pledged shares exceeded 50% of his holdings. The change in Shi Yuzhu's voting status became apparent in July. At the 22nd meeting of the ninth board on June 30, 15 directors were present, but only 14 cast votes. However, at the 23rd meeting on July 30, all 15 attending directors voted, indicating that one existing director had been granted voting rights, as there were no new directors elected or approved during that period.
The bank's semi-annual report offers a clearer explanation. It shows that as of the end of the reporting period, Shanghai Jiant Life Science & Technology Co., Ltd., which is controlled by Shi Yuzhu, had pledged 1,379,678,400 A-shares of the bank, representing 3.15% of the total share capital and over 50% of its own holdings. However, as of the report's disclosure date on August 28, these shares were no longer pledged. This confirms the sequence of events: Shi Yuzhu lifted all pledges on his bank shares in July, thereby restoring his voting rights on the board.
Shi Yuzhu is a well-known private entrepreneur, born in 1962 in Huaiyuan, Anhui Province, and a 1984 graduate of Zhejiang University's mathematics department. He currently serves as chairman of Giant Network Group. His entrepreneurial journey began in the late 1980s, and he achieved significant success with his "Giant" Chinese character card software. After facing a major business crisis due to overexpansion, he recovered his wealth through health products like Nao Baijin and Huangjin Dapei, later expanding into online gaming with the "Zheng Tu" series and making major investments in financial equities, becoming a key private shareholder in China Minsheng Banking Corp.,Ltd..
Shi Yuzhu first joined the bank's board in July 2006, resigned in 2014, and returned as a director in 2017, serving for over nine years. Although his pledged shareholding exceeded 50% during the board re-election in June 2024 and he was re-elected as a director, his voting rights were suspended. Under the "Supervision and Administration Measures for the Conduct of Major Shareholders of Banking and Insurance Institutions", when a major shareholder pledges more than 50% of their equity, they and their nominated directors cannot exercise voting rights at shareholder or board meetings. Despite this, he continued to receive a director's salary, which has drawn criticism.
Additionally, in April 2026, the CSRC's Chongqing bureau issued an administrative warning letter to Shi Yuzhu related to Giant Network, where he is chairman. The penalty stems from a 2020 related-party transaction involving the transfer of equity in Hefei Lingxi Interactive Network Technology Co., Ltd. by one of Giant Network's subsidiaries, which was not properly processed according to related-party transaction procedures and disclosure obligations. This regulatory measure is administrative and does not affect his eligibility as a director.
The board of China Minsheng Banking Corp.,Ltd., often associated with private enterprise, has been influenced by various prominent entrepreneurs, sometimes leading to challenges like related-party transactions and high equity pledges. Lu Zhiqiang, a founding shareholder, faced legal action from the bank in January 2023 over a loan dispute, and he exited the board in June 2024 due to the debt crisis of the "Fansheng" group.
Another significant board change involved Vice Chairman Zhang Hongwei, who resigned in March 2025, citing health reasons after serving for 25 years. His resignation came shortly after his re-election in June 2024. Background issues included his company, Oriental Group, facing restructuring applications and debt defaults, as well as a warning letter from the CSRC's Heilongjiang bureau in December 2024. In April 2025, following his resignation, Zhang Hongwei was fined 10 million yuan and received a lifetime market ban for organizing and directing financial fraud.
Director Zhao Peng, affiliated with Dajia Insurance, resigned in December 2025 for personal reasons, having previously missed several board meetings and stopped receiving compensation since September 2024. Another director, Lin Li from Shenzhen Liye Group, had his qualification approved in July 2025, over a year after his election, while the newly co-opted director Zheng Haiyang, a vice president of China Great Wall Asset Management Company, was elected in June 2025 and had his qualification approved quickly in November.
With Shi Yuzhu's voting rights restored, the board, which has served two-thirds of its term, now appears to have reached its most complete state of governance.
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