Since April, the A-share market has charted a sustained upward trajectory independent of broader trends, with key indices reaching new periodic or even historic highs. The Shanghai Composite Index broke through the significant 4,200-point barrier, marking its highest level in nearly 11 years since July 2015. Similarly, the ChiNext Index surpassed its previous historic peak from June 2015, setting a new record.
As of the close on May 14th, the Shanghai Composite Index has gained over 7% since April, the Shenzhen Component Index has risen more than 16%, and the ChiNext Index has surged over 24%. In terms of trading volume, market activity has remained at historically elevated levels. On May 14th, the single-day turnover exceeded 3 trillion yuan again, reaching 3.39 trillion yuan, marking the seventh consecutive trading day where A-share turnover has stayed above the 3 trillion yuan threshold.
However, amidst this bullish fervor, the capital market has unexpectedly witnessed a wave of密集的 shareholder reduction announcements from listed companies.
Statistics show that since April 2026, 397 A-share listed companies have issued announcements related to shareholder减持, involving 734 shareholders. The total maximum intended reduction amount, calculated based on the closing price on the announcement date, aggregates to approximately 1.2023 trillion yuan.
In terms of the减持 entities, controlling shareholders and actual controllers have been a significant force in this reduction wave. Data indicates that since April, 190 controlling shareholders or actual controllers from 120 companies have announced reduction plans, intending to减持 about 337.01 billion yuan, accounting for 28% of the total amount.
The reduction力度 from major shareholders holding over 5% is even more pronounced. 143 such major shareholders plan reductions with a maximum value of around 628.30 billion yuan, constituting over half of the total. Reductions by senior executives are relatively more dispersed, with 262 executives planning to减持 approximately 61.92 billion yuan.
**CATL Sees Single Shareholder Reduction Exceeding 20 Billion Yuan**
This reduction wave exhibits a notable concentration among leading firms. According to statistics, the combined intended reduction amount from the top ten companies by planned减持 value reaches 468.26 billion yuan, accounting for over one-third of the total.
It is noteworthy that several stocks that have doubled in value this year, such as International Composite Materials, X-Chuang Data, China Merchants Energy Shipping, and BIWIN Storage, are among those with high planned reduction amounts.
The ChiNext heavyweight, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.,Ltd. (CATL), tops the list with the highest intended减持 value. An April 17th announcement revealed that shareholder Ningbo Lianhe Chuangxin New Energy Investment Management Partnership intended to减持 up to 58 million shares, representing 1.27% of the total share capital, via an询价转让. Based on the closing price on the announcement date, the maximum减持 value could reach 25.36 billion yuan.
A subsequent announcement on April 23rd stated that the aforementioned询价转让 had been completed, with a transfer price of 410.34 yuan per share, totaling 23.7997 billion yuan.
Following closely is the gaming leader, Zhejiang Century Huatong Group Co.,Ltd.. According to a May 8th announcement, the largest shareholder, Wang Ji, and his concert parties plan to减持 up to approximately 220 million shares, or 3% of total shares, within three months starting fifteen trading days after the announcement, via集中竞价 and block trades. Based on the announcement day's closing price, this could amount to a maximum套现 of around 3.516 billion yuan.
The memory leader, Gigadevice Semiconductor Inc., also ranks among the top three. An April 8th announcement stated that actual controller Zhu Yiming intends to减持 up to 11.21 million shares, or 1.60% of total shares, with a maximum value of 2.869 billion yuan.
The PCB industry leader, Avary Holding(Shenzhen) Co.,Limited, announced on April 25th that controlling shareholders Meigang Industrial Co., Ltd. and Jihui International Co., Ltd. plan to jointly减持 40 million shares, representing 1.73% of total shares, with a maximum value of 2.864 billion yuan.
Furthermore, the intended reduction上限 for other industry leaders exceeds 15 billion yuan, including online brokerage leader Compass (2.471 billion yuan), computing power leasing leader X-Chuang Data (2.347 billion yuan), electronic fabric leader International Composite Materials (2.237 billion yuan), and copper foil leader Defu Technology (1.932 billion yuan).
**Debt Repayment and Judicial Enforcement Emerge as Primary Reasons for Reductions**
Regarding the stated reasons for减持, "capital needs" constitutes the vast majority, becoming a standard phrase in reduction announcements. However, further analysis reveals that "debt repayment" remains the genuine motive for some shareholders.
Zhejiang Century Huatong Group Co.,Ltd. explicitly stated in its announcement that减持 funds would be "primarily used for debt repayment." Similarly, Compass shareholder Guangzhou Zhanxin Communication Technology Co., Ltd. indicated funds would be used for "subscribing to the company's proposed non-public issuance of perpetual corporate bonds, repaying Guangzhou Zhanxin's stock pledge loans, with any remaining funds to continuously support company business development."
Additionally, actual controllers of Jinyinhua and Foshan Baoyueshan Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. mentioned that套现 funds would mainly be used for repaying bank financing liabilities and personal capital needs. Shareholders of Zhongjian Huaneng also cited debt repayment and supplementing funds for business development.
Notably, some shareholder减持 are due to judicial enforcement. Hainan Ruize announced on April 18th that actual controller Feng Huoling faces a被动减持 of up to 9 million shares, or 0.78% of total shares, due to court enforcement.
Similarly, Berry Genomics' controlling shareholder Gao Yang faces a被动减持 of up to 3.5352 million shares due to a强制变现 order from the Chengdu-Chongqing Financial Court. Shareholder Huang Ganyi of Huiyu Pharmaceutical faces judicial enforcement on his holdings due to disputes over factoring and融资租赁 contracts.
Beyond debt repayment and judicial enforcement,个别 companies cited "optimizing shareholding structure" as a reason. Cocreation Grass Co.,Ltd.'s April 1st减持 announcement stated that concert parties of controlling shareholder Wang Qiangxiang plan to减持 up to 4 million shares collectively, not exceeding 0.50% of total shares each, to "optimize the capital structure and enhance stock liquidity."
Examining Cocreation Grass's ownership structure, as of Q1 2026, the top ten流通 shareholders collectively held 366 million shares, representing a highly concentrated 91.18% of流通 shares.
**Four Types of违规减持 to Face Targeted Crackdown**
Amidst the密集的减持 announcements, regulators are continuously refining减持 rules. The China Securities Regulatory Commission recently solicited public comments on the "Administrative Penalty Implementation Rules for Illegal Securities Transfer Cases (Draft for Comments)," aiming to comprehensively完善 the减持 regulatory framework and严厉 crack down on various违规减持 behaviors.
The draft rules categorize illegal securities transfers into four major types, with penalty tiers based on the违规 transfer比例 and amount. Under the new rules, situations involving "违规 transfer比例 exceeding 5% + amount exceeding 500 million yuan" will face加重处罚.
Simultaneously, the rules clarify加重处罚 circumstances, including违规减持 leading to changes in the company's largest shareholder or actual controller,以及 large-scale, high-proportion sales within a short period causing stock price fluctuations. Additionally, transferring原始股 during restricted periods is deemed a more harmful "unauthorized减持" act.
It is important to note that in the short term, shareholder减持 often exerts pressure on individual stock prices. However, from a medium-to-long-term perspective, orderly and reasonable减持 is a normal phenomenon in capital markets,有助于 enhancing stock liquidity and optimizing shareholder structure.
In fact, a significant portion of the减持 in this wave represents normal exits by funds nearing the end of their存续期. For instance,减持 by shareholders of Xinhui Ke and Sentai股份 are attributed to fund到期 exit requirements. Similarly,减持 by shareholders of Guoxin Technology and Saifen Technology are also due to fund exit demands.
Particularly noteworthy is that a considerable number of companies in this减持 wave have opted for the询价转让 method. Leading firms like CATL, Compass, and X-Chuang Data have employed this approach.
Under the regulatory framework,询价转让 is a unique share减持 mechanism for the STAR Market and ChiNext Board. It involves pre-IPO shareholders transferring their holdings via private询价 to qualified specific institutional investors through协议转让. Its core purpose is to provide an exit channel for early-stage shareholders,引入 long-term institutional investors like公募 and私募 funds to take over, thereby mitigating the direct impact of large-scale减持 on secondary market prices, optimizing the listed company's investor base, and facilitating a接力 between early investors and long-term holders.
Taking CATL as an example, its询价转让 attracted bids from 50 institutional investors, with an effective subscription multiple of 2.1 times. Ultimately, 30 institutional investors took over the shares, which are subject to a 6-month lock-up period, effectively缓冲 the direct冲击 on the secondary market. As of now, CATL's stock price remains near historic highs.
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