On September 3, Shanxi Antai Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Antai Group") announced that the company has transferred coking business-related assets operated by its Coal Chemical Branch and Power Division to Hongan Coking, while simultaneously transferring related claims and debts to Hongan Coking according to actual circumstances. Subsequently, Antai Group will consider canceling the Coal Chemical Branch based on actual conditions.
**1. Asset Transfer Totaling 431 Million Yuan**
This transfer arrangement was finalized in April 2024. According to Antai Group, to integrate the company's coking business assets, optimize internal resource allocation, and further improve management efficiency, the company decided to transfer coking business-related assets and liabilities operated by the Coal Chemical Branch and Power Division to its wholly-owned subsidiary Hongan Coking.
As of the reference date (June 30, 2025), the Coal Chemical Branch had total assets of 431 million yuan, total liabilities of 18 million yuan, and net assets of 413 million yuan. The transferred assets mainly include two coke ovens and supporting dry quenching and waste heat utilization facilities.
The previous announcement indicated that Antai Group currently operates 2.4 million tons/year of coke production and supporting dry quenching facilities, built in two phases and now completed. The first phase was primarily undertaken by the company's wholly-owned subsidiary Hongan Coking, while the second phase was undertaken by Antai Group and managed daily by the Coal Chemical Branch. Additionally, the power generation assets from Antai Group's dry quenching and waste heat utilization projects were accounted for under Antai Group's Power Division.
On August 31 this year, Antai Group and Hongan Coking signed a "Delivery Confirmation Agreement," completing the transfer. Both phases of the projects have been formally transferred to Hongan Coking for operation and management, meaning all of Antai Group's coking business is now concentrated under Hongan Coking.
It should be noted that some machinery and equipment in the Coal Chemical Branch assets were mortgaged, and after the transfer, the corresponding mortgage guarantee obligations will continue to be borne by Hongan Coking. Labor relationships for employees corresponding to the transferred assets and business will also be taken over by Hongan Coking.
**2. Integration Signs Were Already Evident**
This transfer may have shown early signs. The Coal Chemical Branch, formally known as Shanxi Antai Group Co., Ltd. Coal Chemical Branch, was established on April 16, 1998, with Chen Wenhu as the responsible person and metallurgical coke production as its business scope.
Hongan Coking, formally known as Shanxi Hongan Coking Technology Co., Ltd., was established on February 26, 2004, also with Chen Wenhu as the responsible person. Its business scope is broader, including production and sales of coke and coking by-products, freight forwarding services, warehousing services, and loading and unloading services.
Furthermore, after Antai Group decided to develop contract coking processing business in 2024, the company reached a contract processing agreement with Xiangfen County Changshengping Coal Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Changshengping Company") in May of that year, with the Coal Chemical Branch processing and producing coke for them. Given that crude gas still requires further processing and Changshengping Company lacks processing capabilities, the generated crude gas was sold locally to Hongan Coking.
In October, Antai Group reached cooperation intentions with Jiexiu Jiean Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jiean Coal Chemical Company"). In this cooperation, Hongan Coking directly used its own equipment to fully process and produce coke for Jiean Coal Chemical Company, also purchasing the generated crude gas.
From these two cooperations, even when contracts were signed for the Coal Chemical Branch to process and produce coke, Hongan Coking still needed to intervene to handle the crude gas generated from processing. Therefore, integration seemed inevitable.
**3. Shanxi's First Private Listed Company Seeks Development**
As a well-known private listed coal and coke enterprise in Shanxi and a "chain leader" enterprise in Shanxi Province's special steel materials industrial chain, Antai Group's predecessor was Shanxi Antai International Enterprise (Group) Co., Ltd., established in 1993 through joint sponsorship by Jiexiu Yian Coking Plant, Jiexiu Yian Town Coal Washing Plant, and Jiexiu Yian Town Clean Coal Shipping Station, and listed on the A-share market in 2003.
Antai Group's founder is Li Anmin, a prominent Shanxi businessman who has repeatedly made the Hurun Rich List and is known as the "Shanxi Coking King." For a long time, Antai Group has primarily engaged in the production and sales of coke and steel products. Its "Antai" brand metallurgical coke, known for excellent quality, was repeatedly recognized as a "Shanxi Province Famous Brand Product," and Antai Group successfully became a "chain leader" enterprise in Shanxi Province's special steel materials industrial chain and one of the top ten private enterprises in Shanxi.
However, constrained by the market downturn environment of declining demand and falling profits, Antai Group, which had long relied on its two main businesses of coking and steel products, also fell into a performance predicament, even staging a four-year "shell preservation battle." This forced the company to seek business growth.
Contract coking processing business is precisely the second growth curve chosen by Antai Group. This business reportedly played a positive role in helping Antai Group avoid coke price volatility risks, and during the same period (first half of 2024), Antai Group's net profit increased by 32.81% year-on-year.
In February this year, Antai Group announced it would continue developing contract coking processing business. With this transfer and integration, it will help optimize the company's asset structure, improve operational management efficiency, and continue to develop the contract coking processing business.
Additionally, Antai Group is also expanding supply chain trading. On the evening of May 13, Antai Group announced that the company and Fujian Zhanglong Group Co., Ltd. decided to jointly invest in establishing a supply chain trading company. The proposed joint venture "Zhangzhou Longtai Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd." has a registered capital of 100 million yuan, with Zhanglong Group holding 51% and Antai Group holding 49%. The joint venture's business scope includes supply chain management services, metal materials sales, non-ferrous metal alloy sales, chemical product sales, petroleum product sales, coal and coal product sales, etc. This move is also expected to provide more support for Antai Group in the sales of coke and steel products.
Finally, it's worth mentioning that in June this year, second-generation entrepreneur Li Meng returned to serve as chairman of Antai Group after nine years. Whether he can lead Antai Group toward new development prospects deserves attention!
Comments