On October 9, Eoptolink Technology Inc.,Ltd. announced that controlling shareholder and Chairman Gao Guangrong's plan to transfer 11.4307 million shares, representing 1.15% of total share capital, has been completed with 16 institutions as transferees. The transfer was priced at 328 yuan per share, approximately 10% below the closing price of 365.77 yuan on September 30, raising a total of 3.749 billion yuan. If calculated at the closing price, the corresponding market value reached 4.181 billion yuan.
Following the transaction completion, Gao Guangrong's shareholding ratio decreased from 7.39% to 6.24%, stepping down as the largest shareholder. General Manager Huang Xiaolei (holding 7.13%) will become the largest shareholder. Gao Guangrong committed not to reduce holdings through secondary market transactions for 12 months after the transfer completion, while transferee shares are locked for 6 months.
From Eoptolink's stock price perspective, the company's recent stock price has accumulated gains exceeding 600% from the low of 46.56 yuan in April 2025, making Gao Guangrong's move a definitive "high-level" reduction.
From a historical perspective, this is not Gao Guangrong's first reduction. From October 2022 to July 2023, he cumulatively reduced 10.9949 million shares through block trading and centralized bidding, cashing out over 579 million yuan. His person acting in concert, Han Yulan, also reduced 11.7546 million shares in September 2022, cashing out 252 million yuan, nearly clearing her position.
More notably, from March to April 2023, Gao Guangrong violated regulations by transferring 1.42% of shares through family trust accounts, leading to false information disclosure in the company's annual report. He was ultimately fined by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, with illegal gains confiscated at 9.4986 million yuan and an additional fine of 22 million yuan, totaling 31.4986 million yuan in penalties.
Additionally, management reductions have been frequent, with 42 reduction operations occurring from 2023 to present and no increase records. From April to July 2025, Vice General Manager Chen Wei, Board Secretary Wang Cheng, and other executives collectively reduced approximately 99,400 shares due to personal funding needs, cashing out over 10.59 million yuan. Former Director Jeffrey Chih Lo has continuously reduced holdings for 11 consecutive quarters, with his shareholding ratio declining from 4.98% to 2.5%.
The market reacted significantly to this reduction, with the company's stock price falling 4% on October 9, closing at 351.15 yuan, and major funds showing net outflows of 2.032 billion yuan. Investor discussions included both skepticism about "high-level cash-out" and "avoiding valuation risks," as well as views that the reduction represents the controlling shareholder's personal financial arrangements without direct correlation to company operations.
It should be noted that Gao Guangrong's current shareholding pledge rate reaches 42%. If the stock price retreats more than 20%, it may trigger liquidation risks. Combined with his historical violation records, the company's governance dimension may continue to face pressure.
**Gao Guangrong Used Trusts to Avoid Reduction Supervision, Eoptolink's Information Disclosure Details Show Contradictions**
As mentioned earlier, in February this year, Gao Guangrong received an Administrative Penalty Decision from the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Due to two violations - violating restrictive provisions for stock transfers and information disclosure violations - he was penalized approximately 31.4986 million yuan in total.
During Gao Guangrong's holding of Eoptolink shares through family trusts (2020 to 2022), he failed to truthfully report actual shareholding situations to the company, leading to false records in shareholder information disclosed in Eoptolink's 2020, 2021, and 2022 annual reports.
Gao Guangrong attempted to separate trust holdings from personal holdings by establishing family trusts with "non-person-acting-in-concert reduction structures" to circumvent reduction ratio limitations and information disclosure obligations. However, through penetrative verification, the Securities Regulatory Commission determined that trust account transactions were actually controlled by him, breaking the compliance illusion of such "isolation functions."
This incident exposed not only personal violations but also loopholes in the company's shareholder information verification and internal control systems. Gao Guangrong's involvement in both irregular reductions and information disclosure violations also affected Eoptolink's ESG rating. According to Huazheng's stock ESG data, Eoptolink's rating was downgraded from BB to B in January 2025, with governance (G) rankings falling to below industry average.
Eoptolink announced that this penalty only involved Gao Guangrong personally and was unrelated to company operations, emphasizing that production and operations remained normal. In the 2024 annual report, Eoptolink only mentioned in "Important Matters" that Gao Guangrong was penalized by the Securities Regulatory Commission for allegedly violating restrictive stock transfer provisions, but failed to disclose key details. The source adjustments for irregularly reduced shares and excess reduction details were not timely disclosed to the market, contradicting the statement of "fully fulfilling information disclosure obligations."
**Gao Guangrong's September Reduction Remains Questioned Despite Compliance, Eoptolink's Governance Risks Undisclosed**
Due to previous reduction issues, investors are paying closer attention to the compliance and market trust regarding Gao Guangrong's late September reduction. Given his violation history, this September reduction will face stricter compliance scrutiny from regulatory authorities and the market.
However, from publicly available information, this reduction used inquiry transfer methods, with transfer prices exceeding 70% of the average trading price over the previous 20 trading days, complying with relevant regulations without violations.
His previous violations have reduced investor trust in Gao Guangrong, leading to more cautious views of his September reduction behavior. Even though this reduction is compliant, investors may have more doubts about the motivation and impact due to previous incidents.
After this reduction, Gao Guangrong's shareholding ratio fell to 6.24%, losing his position as the largest shareholder. The company needs to demonstrate that its governance structure and decision-making stability will not be affected, and that long-term development remains unimpacted.
Additionally, the company's stock price experienced two consecutive drops after October 9 market opening. As of today's close, Eoptolink's stock price fell 1.41% to 346.2 yuan per share. Some investors worry that major shareholder reductions will negatively impact stock prices, especially when market doubts exist about reduction motives, potentially triggering investor panic and causing price declines.
Furthermore, the annual report's "Share Changes and Shareholder Situation" section only disclosed Gao Guangrong's 7.40% shareholding ratio without mentioning his 42% equity pledge rate or warning about "potential liquidation risks if stock price retreats more than 20%." This led to the annual report's "Management Discussion and Analysis" section on "Company Future Development Outlook" failing to include "governance risks from controlling shareholder equity pledges," inconsistent with "comprehensive operational risk disclosure" requirements.
These issues may all affect minority shareholders and investor decision-making. Eoptolink still needs improvement in the materiality, quantification, and targeting of ESG information disclosure.
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