On September 19, Shanghai Construction Group Co.,Ltd. (600170) plunged sharply after market open, hitting the 10% daily limit down at 9:32 AM and closing at 3.49 yuan, representing a 10.05% decline. Major institutional funds recorded a net outflow of 660 million yuan during the morning session.
Just one day earlier, Shanghai Construction Group had achieved five consecutive daily limit-up moves, with its stock price reaching 3.88 yuan per share, marking a new high since November 2015. Retail investors on Guangzhou Road cheered for 82-year-old "Uncle Zhou," celebrating that the elderly investor had finally broken even after holding for ten years.
This veteran investor, dubbed "Construction Grandpa" by netizens, invested 500,000 yuan heavily in Shanghai Construction Group at 6 yuan per share in 2013. In 2015, as the bull market surged, Shanghai Construction Group soared to 17 yuan. However, perhaps overly optimistic about the company's prospects or expecting even higher returns, "Construction Grandpa" chose not to sell. Unfortunately, the market subsequently reversed course, and the stock plummeted, falling by half to 7.53 yuan before entering a prolonged decline.
Facing the continuous drop in share price, "Construction Grandpa" refused to give up and began a monthly averaging-down strategy. He squeezed out 3,000 yuan monthly from his pension, including dividend payments and back wages, steadily lowering his average cost from 6 yuan per share to around 3.8 yuan per share.
"Construction Grandpa" lived an extremely frugal lifestyle, with "pants that were torn at the seams." Since his home was far from the securities trading hall, each round trip took two hours, and lunch was often just a packet of instant noodles. Netizens joked that between mending his pants and fixing his teeth, the grandfather chose to average down his position instead.
"Construction Grandpa" had promised that if Shanghai Construction Group returned to breakeven, he would treat fellow investors to dinner at Jinjiang Hotel and give them White Rabbit candies. He even stated that if the stock price rose above 5 yuan, he would sell most of his holdings to buy his daughter-in-law a car. Many netizens were moved by his persistence and initiated a relay campaign of "everyone buy one lot to help grandpa break even."
In September 2025, the market was suddenly flooded with rumors that Shanghai Construction Group's gold mine reserves had increased. Starting September 12, the stock price began a dramatic rally, posting two consecutive daily limit-up moves.
Shanghai Construction Group quickly issued a clarification on the evening of September 15, stating that the rumors about increased gold mine reserves referred to an August 2020 announcement containing previously disclosed information, not recent news. The company emphasized that gold sales business has never exceeded 0.5% of total annual revenue.
In the first half of 2025, Shanghai Construction Group reported total revenue of 105 billion yuan, down 28.04% year-over-year, with net profit of 7.1 billion yuan, declining 14.07% year-over-year. Traditional construction contracting business revenue plummeted 30% year-over-year, while construction industry revenue fell 12.5%. The only growing segment, gold sales business, generated merely 403 million yuan in revenue and contributed 146 million yuan in gross profit, accounting for only 1.68% of total gross profit.
Some netizens joked: "I thought I was buying a 'gold mining stock,' but it turns out to be a 'construction stock with a gold mine accessory' – what a disappointment."
Despite this, market enthusiasm remained undaunted. Shanghai Construction Group continued its upward momentum with another daily limit-up on September 16, achieving five consecutive limit-up days by September 18, closing at 3.88 yuan per share with a total market capitalization of 34.5 billion yuan.
On September 17 and 18, Shanghai Construction Group recorded turnover rates of 24.68% and 25.83% respectively, meaning nearly a quarter of all shares changed hands daily in typical "hot potato" trading. Under the relay campaign of netizens helping "Construction Grandpa break even," he finally reached breakeven.
Some netizens reflected: "How many 12-year periods does one have in life? Having to invest 10,000 yuan monthly, scrimping on food and drink, and now just barely breaking even without any profit – not even covering 10 years of interest."
However, just as Shanghai Construction Group touched "Construction Grandpa's" average cost, the stock was hammered down to the daily limit shortly after market open on September 19. Capital flows had already shown warning signs – on September 18, despite the fifth consecutive daily limit-up, major institutional funds recorded a net outflow of 484 million yuan, which exceeded 600 million yuan when the stock hit limit-down on September 19.
Rumors circulate that "Construction Grandpa" had already sold most of his position during the previous rally. Netizens joke that while one "grandpa" broke even, thousands of new "grandpas" are now trapped.
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