Wolong Electric Group Co.,Ltd. has recently submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, planning to list on the Hong Kong market to achieve dual "A+H" listing. Notably, Wolong Electric's A-share stock price has doubled year-to-date, with its latest market capitalization approaching 50 billion yuan.
Behind Wolong Electric Group Co.,Ltd., based in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, stands a father-daughter pair - Chen Jiancheng and Chen Yanni. In 1984, Chen Jiancheng started from an old factory building in a mountain village and led Wolong Electric to become a leading domestic motor manufacturer.
Similar to many second-generation successors, Chen Yanni also returned after studying overseas, joining the group in 2007 and taking over from her father after years of experience.
**Father and Daughter Create 50 Billion Market Value**
This is a story of Zhejiang entrepreneurs building from scratch.
Born in 1959 in Shaoxing, Chen Jiancheng worked as a carpenter with his father after high school graduation. In 1977, he joined Lianfeng Fiberglass Factory as a technician, becoming deputy director in 1982. That same year, his daughter Chen Yanni was born.
Two years later, Chen Jiancheng decided to resign and start his business. Together with five coworkers, they pooled over 100,000 yuan and contracted an old factory building in Haoba Village, Shangyu County, establishing Shangyu County Multi-Speed Micro Motor Factory, the predecessor of Wolong Group. In 1985, Chen Jiancheng led workers to produce their first product, the "JW Series Motor," quickly achieving sales of over 1 million yuan and profits exceeding 200,000 yuan the following year, registering the Wolong motor trademark in the same year.
Subsequently, Wolong Group underwent shareholding reform, transforming from a township collective enterprise to a private company. After years of hard work, Wolong Electric successfully listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2002, marking Chen Jiancheng's first IPO.
Chen Yanni graduated from Imperial College London in 2006 and returned to China. Initially, she worked at financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and HSBC, choosing not to immediately return to the family business. She once stated in an interview that "gaining experience outside is different from working in your own family enterprise. Outside, I'm an ordinary person, but within Wolong, even as a regular employee on the front line, everyone sees me as the boss."
In 2007, Chen Yanni returned to work at Wolong Group, initially serving at a subsidiary engaged in import-export trade. In 2009, when Wolong Electric launched its overseas acquisition of Austria's ATB Group, she returned to group headquarters, becoming her father's translator and assistant. Until the acquisition was completed in 2011, Chen Yanni participated throughout the entire process, with negotiations alone spanning more than ten rounds.
Subsequently, under the collaboration of the father-daughter duo, Wolong Electric successively acquired Italian robot production line solution provider SIR, General Electric's medium and low-voltage motor business in the United States, and incorporated multiple renowned European industrial brands including Brook Crompton, Schorch, Morley, and Laurence Scott under its umbrella.
Today, Wolong Group has developed into a multinational enterprise primarily focused on motors and drive control, encompassing wind-solar-storage-hydrogen new energy and mineral resources businesses. The group has three listed companies: Wolong Electric Group Co.,Ltd., Wolong Resources, and Brook Crompton, with over 40 factories globally across North America, Europe, and Asia.
After years of experience, Chen Yanni has gradually taken over the heavy responsibility from her father, currently serving as Vice Chairman of Wolong Group's Board of Directors and Chairman of Wolong Holdings Group. According to Wolong Electric's prospectus, Chen Jiancheng and Chen Yanni hold approximately 38.84% of shares directly and indirectly through Wolong Holdings and Wolong Shunyu, making them the controlling shareholders. Additionally, Wolong Electric's current Chairman Pang Xinyuan is Chen Yanni's husband.
Notably, Wolong Electric's stock price has doubled year-to-date, with its latest market capitalization approaching 50 billion yuan.
**Invested in Zhiyuan and Serves as Unitree's Supplier**
What exactly is this business?
The prospectus shows that Wolong Electric Group Co.,Ltd. focuses on the research, development, production, sales, and service of electric drive system products and solutions, continuously providing global customers with five core sectors: explosion-proof electric drive system solutions, industrial electric drive system solutions, HVAC electric drive system solutions, new energy transportation electric drive system solutions, and robot components and system applications.
According to Frost & Sullivan data, by 2024 revenue, Wolong Electric ranks first globally in the explosion-proof electric drive system solutions market with approximately 4.5% market share; fourth globally in the industrial electric drive system solutions market with approximately 2.8% market share; and fifth globally in the HVAC electric drive system solutions market with approximately 2.0% market share.
The prospectus shows that from 2022 to 2024, Wolong Electric's operating revenue was 14.266 billion yuan, 15.566 billion yuan, and 16.247 billion yuan respectively, with period profits of 839 million yuan, 553 million yuan, and 832 million yuan respectively. In the first half of 2025, revenue was 8.031 billion yuan, up 0.66% year-on-year; period profit was 54.7969 million yuan, up 33.96% year-on-year.
Among these, the three major businesses of explosion-proof, industrial, and HVAC electric drive system solutions constitute Wolong Electric's foundational business segments, supporting nearly 90% of revenue. However, it should be noted that these three major businesses have shown weak growth in recent years, with revenue growth rates showing obvious deceleration.
Therefore, Wolong Electric has also targeted robotics business as a breakthrough point. The prospectus discloses that from 2022 to 2024, Wolong Electric's robot component business revenue was 355 million yuan, 406 million yuan, and 451 million yuan respectively; corresponding proportions were 2.5%, 2.6%, and 2.8%; with preliminary mass production of robots in the first half of this year, this portion of revenue was only 2.7%. This shows that the commercialization of robotics business is still in its early stages and has not yet formed scale effects.
Notably, in March this year, Zhiyuan Robotics completed strategic investment in Hill Robotics through capital increase and share expansion, with the latter being an industrial robot manufacturer under Wolong Electric; subsequently, Wolong Electric also announced becoming a strategic shareholder of Zhiyuan Robotics, focusing on advancing core technology research and industrial application ecosystem construction for embodied intelligent robots.
Additionally, Wolong Electric indirectly holds shares in Unitree Technology through its holdings in Jinshi Growth Equity. According to media reports, Wolong Electric is a core component supplier to Unitree Robotics, providing key components such as high-burst joint modules and servo drivers.
In Wolong Electric's fundraising purpose for its Hong Kong IPO, the company also emphasizes strengthening investments and business in emerging fields (mainly electric aviation and robot components). Clearly, Wolong Electric is betting its second growth curve on robotics.
**Chinese Female Second Generation Takes Center Stage**
Increasingly, more "father-daughter entrepreneurial teams" are appearing on IPO listing stages.
Recently, United Power's ChiNext IPO application has received CSRC registration approval, planning to raise 4.857 billion yuan. This company spun off from Inovance Technology in 2021, backed by father-daughter duo Zhu Xingming and Zhu Hanyue, with Zhu Xingming's Inovance Technology already listed with a latest market value exceeding 170 billion yuan. Currently, United Power has passed two rounds of listing inquiries and is just one step away from listing.
Another memorable case was Zhongce Rubber's listing on Shanghai Stock Exchange's main board in June this year, with opening market value once approaching 50 billion yuan. Originating from Hangzhou Haichao Rubber Factory established in 1958, Zhongce Rubber is a leading domestic tire manufacturer. Before this IPO, the company's actual controllers were father-daughter duo Qiu Jianping and Qiu Fei, collectively controlling 46.95% of shares.
A gaming IPO is also approaching - Xinbang Interactive Entertainment, founded by Guo Zhongjian in 2014, with his daughter Guo Xiaolan joining as CEO in 2017, subsequently incubating multiple hit games. Recently, Xinbang Interactive Entertainment's flagship mobile game "Nine Provinces Immortal Sword Legend" exceeded 10 billion yuan in total revenue. In March this year, Xinbang Interactive Entertainment formally submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Earlier, Lexin Outdoor's Hong Kong IPO filing materials have also been received by the CSRC. The founder is Yang Baoqing, a post-1960s Zhejiang businessman who built Taepsen over thirty years, with Lexin Outdoor being the group's fishing equipment business. The prospectus shows that the company's executive director and general manager Lei Yang is Yang Baoqing's daughter.
Such cases are countless.
Quietly, a group of female successors has emerged in China's business landscape. Examples include Liu Shuqi taking over as head of Tongwei Co. with nearly 100 billion market value; Liu Chang taking over New Hope Investment Group from her father; Tongkun Group founder Chen Shiliang passing the baton to daughter Chen Lei; Tianqi Lithium electing Jiang Anqi, daughter of Jiang Weiping, as new chairman... They have become a distinctive feature of China's business world.
Of course, the most well-known to the public is Zong Fuli. In February last year, Zong Qinghou passed away due to illness, and Wahaha entered the "Zong Fuli era." In her first year of succession, Wahaha's revenue returned to the 70 billion yuan range, matching the performance scale from ten years ago. However, recently, Zong Fuli has been embroiled in an inheritance dispute, which is quite regrettable.
Data shows that from 2010 to 2023, over more than a decade, the proportion of Chinese family enterprises choosing females as successors has significantly increased. Daughters, once viewed as the "second choice," have now become the core of family business continuity. However, it should be noted that generational succession is far from simple wealth transfer, but rather a complex systematic project.
As Chen Jiancheng previously said, "Many young people nowadays have high education and good English skills, but that alone is not enough. Entrepreneurs all come out from 'gunfire and bullets.'"
As the saying goes, "It's easy to conquer a kingdom, but difficult to defend it." This is an eternal truth in Chinese history - maintaining a business is always harder than starting one. Clearly, the real test for them is just beginning.
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