The removal of special treatment status for seven ST companies has occurred within the current month.
As the annual report season concluded over a month ago, a number of ST companies are beginning to exit their delisting predicaments as their financial indicators improve.
On June 3rd, four ST-listed companies had their delisting risk warnings rescinded on the same day. This involved *ST Rongkong, *ST Jiaotou, *ST Zhongdi, and ST Langyuan. Their stock tickers were changed to Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ), Ycic Eco-Technology Co.,Ltd. (002200.SZ), Cccg Urban Development Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000736.SZ), and Lontrue Co.,Ltd. (300175.SZ), respectively.
Prior to this, three other ST companies had their special treatment status removed at the beginning of the month, involving *ST Yatai, *ST Gaosi, and *ST Tianze. The reasons for these changes primarily stem from actions such as receiving capital injections from major shareholders or undergoing corporate restructurings, which helped turn their net assets positive or return them to profitability, thereby successfully preserving their listing status.
However, even though some ST companies have temporarily averted delisting risks, underlying issues with operational losses remain unresolved. Several companies have also received inquiry letters from stock exchanges following the disclosure of their annual reports.
Industry experts caution that when it comes to these shell-preservation activities by ST companies, investors should pay close attention to the specific methods employed and assess whether the companies have achieved genuine operational improvements or have merely polished their financial statements through accounting maneuvers to avoid delisting.
A Wave of ST Companies Exiting Special Treatment
The four latest companies to exit special treatment status showed varied stock price performances on their first day of resumed trading. As of the market close on June 3rd, Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ), Ycic Eco-Technology Co.,Ltd. (002200.SZ), and Cccg Urban Development Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000736.SZ) closed higher, with gains of 2.02%, 1.48%, and 0.19% respectively. Conversely, Lontrue Co.,Ltd. (300175.SZ) closed down 2.18%.
All four companies were placed under special treatment last year. Among them, Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ) and Cccg Urban Development Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000736.SZ) triggered financial-based delisting criteria. Ycic Eco-Technology Co.,Ltd. (002200.SZ) first triggered financial criteria and later faced regulatory-based delisting risks. Lontrue Co.,Ltd. (300175.SZ) was placed under special treatment due to financial fraud, triggering other delisting risk categories.
Lontrue Co.,Ltd. (300175.SZ) was the first to be placed under special treatment, receiving the designation at the end of March last year after being found guilty of financial fraud.
Disclosures revealed that the company's 2019 annual report inflated operating revenue by 52.5069 million yuan and inflated total profit by 18.166 million yuan. Although the company made corrections for accounting errors in September 2020, false records persisted even after the adjustments.
Ultimately, the Shandong Securities Regulatory Commission fined Lontrue Co.,Ltd. (300175.SZ) 5 million yuan, imposed a combined fine of 5.5 million yuan on four responsible individuals, and banned the then-chairman Zhang Tao from the securities market for 10 years.
Following the finalization of the penalties, Lontrue Co.,Ltd. (300175.SZ) was placed under other risk warnings, and its stock ticker was changed to ST Langyuan.
At the end of April this year, the company applied for the removal of its special treatment status, citing that it had corrected the accounting errors with retrospective adjustments, more than 12 months had passed since the administrative penalties, and no other conditions triggering risk warnings existed.
The other three companies were placed under special treatment in April last year, all for triggering financial-based delisting criteria.
Among them, Cccg Urban Development Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000736.SZ) received the designation in mid-April last year. The core reason was its negative net assets of -3.579 billion yuan at the end of 2024. With the release of its 2025 annual report, the company's net assets turned positive, reaching 1.208 billion yuan by the end of last year, allowing it to escape the delisting predicament.
Over the past year, in a self-preservation effort, Cccg Urban Development Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000736.SZ) divested all its loss-making real estate development businesses for a nominal price of 1 yuan. At the end of August last year, it transferred its entire holdings of 117 real estate projects along with related assets and liabilities to its controlling shareholder, Cccg Real Estate Group Co., Ltd., for 1 yuan.
Following this intervention by the controlling shareholder, the company's business scope no longer includes real estate operations, and its name was changed to Cccg Urban Development Holding Group Co., Ltd.
The remaining two companies, Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ) and Ycic Eco-Technology Co.,Ltd. (002200.SZ), were placed under special treatment due to annual report losses.
Ycic Eco-Technology Co.,Ltd. (002200.SZ) had negative net assets of -42.7516 million yuan at the end of 2024, and its net profit after deducting non-recurring items had been consecutively negative from 2022 to 2024, with losses of 6.9544 million yuan, 13.5391 million yuan, and 9.4565 million yuan respectively for those periods. Consequently, the company became *ST Jiaotou in late April last year.
Subsequently, the company applied to the court for restructuring, with the application accepted in late October last year, leading to an additional imposition of delisting risk warnings. Later, by introducing financial investors and divesting loss-making assets, the company's net assets attributable to shareholders turned positive to 1.286 billion yuan by the end of 2025, enabling it to exit special treatment.
Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ) was also initially placed under special treatment for triggering financial-based delisting criteria. The company's total profit, net profit, and net profit after deducting non-recurring items were all negative in 2024, reaching -368 million yuan, -368 million yuan, and -377 million yuan respectively. Furthermore, its post-deduction revenue for that year fell below the 300 million yuan threshold.
In 2025, with an increase in property sales, the company's performance turned profitable. It achieved operating revenue of 406 million yuan last year, including 322 million yuan from real estate sales, and its profit indicators turned positive, ultimately leading to the removal of its special treatment status.
Scrutinizing Shell-Preservation Tactics
Prior to the aforementioned four companies, three other ST companies had their delisting risks removed earlier this month. *ST Yatai changed its ticker to Gansu Yatai Industrial Development Co.,Ltd. (000691.SZ) on June 1st, followed by *ST Gaosi and *ST Tianze changing to Gospell Digital Technology Co.,Ltd. (002848.SZ) and Tvzone Media Co.,Ltd. (603721.SH) respectively on June 2nd. These three companies were previously placed under special treatment for triggering financial-based delisting criteria.
However, despite temporarily averting delisting risks, the aforementioned seven companies still face issues such as operational losses and weak core businesses.
In terms of performance, five of the seven companies reported net losses attributable to shareholders last year. Only Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ) and Tvzone Media Co.,Ltd. (603721.SH) were profitable. The largest loss was reported by Cccg Urban Development Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000736.SZ), with 2025 revenue of 14.707 billion yuan, a decrease of nearly 20% year-on-year. Although its net loss attributable to shareholders narrowed compared to 2024, it still exceeded 1.7 billion yuan.
Among the other four loss-making companies, Gospell Digital Technology Co.,Ltd. (002848.SZ), Gansu Yatai Industrial Development Co.,Ltd. (000691.SZ), and Lontrue Co.,Ltd. (300175.SZ) all achieved revenue growth last year. Gospell Digital Technology Co.,Ltd. (002848.SZ) saw the largest revenue increase, with a year-on-year growth of 170.55% to 365 million yuan, but it still reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of 79.6043 million yuan.
Ycic Eco-Technology Co.,Ltd. (002200.SZ) experienced a revenue decline last year, and although its net loss narrowed, it remained in the red. Disclosures show the company's revenue last year was 513 million yuan, down 15.04% year-on-year, with a net loss attributable to shareholders of 24.8732 million yuan.
Entering 2026, Lontrue Co.,Ltd. (300175.SZ) remains unprofitable. In the first quarter of this year, its revenue was 89 million yuan, up 64.98% year-on-year, but it reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of 5.6152 million yuan.
Although Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ) increased both revenue and profit last year, its first-quarter performance this year was volatile, resulting in a net loss attributable to shareholders. Simultaneously, the company received an annual report inquiry letter requesting a point-by-point self-assessment of its compliance with the conditions for removing its special treatment status.
Financial report data shows that in 2025, Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ) achieved revenue of 406 million yuan and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 26.1468 million yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 204.38% and 107.11% respectively. In the first quarter of this year, the company's revenue fell by approximately 30% year-on-year to 54 million yuan, with a net loss attributable to shareholders of 12.6822 million yuan.
The property sales situation of Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ) has drawn regulatory attention. In the inquiry letter, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange requested the company to detail its property sales in 2025, including major sales projects and sales area, and to explain the reasons and rationale behind the significant increase in property sales revenue and gross margin. Furthermore, the exchange demanded the company conduct a point-by-point self-inspection and clearly state whether it meets all conditions for exiting special treatment status.
Additionally, Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ) received a penalty notice just over half a month ago. The company announced on May 15th that the Shandong Securities Regulatory Commission's investigation concluded that some of its cross-border logistics business accounting in the third quarter of 2025 was non-compliant. The company failed to accurately assess the business substance and apply the net method for revenue recognition, leading to misstatements in its third-quarter 2025 report.
Consequently, Rongfeng Holding Group Co.,Ltd. (000668.SZ) and four individuals including its chairman were issued warning letters.
During each financial reporting season, whether ST companies can successfully preserve their listing status often becomes a market focus. Industry observers believe it is crucial to scrutinize the shell-preservation tactics and operational conditions of these companies.
Commenting on the overall performance of ST companies, Tian Lihui, Dean of the Institute of Financial Development at Nankai University, recently noted that during this financial reporting season, the ST sector presents a polarized "ice and fire" landscape. He stated that a minority of ST companies, through methods like restructuring to introduce synergistic industrial partners, have managed to turn their net assets positive with the help of debt restructuring gains, thereby qualifying for the removal of special treatment. On the other hand, some ST companies may fail to preserve their listing status due to reasons such as receiving non-standard audit opinions on their annual reports.
Tian Lihui also highlighted the need to watch for companies employing financial engineering to barely meet the criteria for survival. He pointed out that some companies' preservation paths rely on related-party transactions to inflate scale or last-minute consolidation of statements at year-end, just scraping past revenue and profit thresholds.
He argued that such financial improvements, lacking support from industrial logic or the restoration of sustainable operational capabilities, merely transfer risks temporarily from the balance sheet to the next accounting cycle.
He further added that investors should focus on whether companies achieve performance improvements by introducing strategic industrial investors or synergistically revitalizing existing assets. He emphasized that only industrial empowerment, rather than financial window-dressing, can inject sustainable value into distressed companies.
Comments