---
title: "10-Year IPO Tutoring Ends Abruptly: When Will Nongfu Spring's Listing Mystery Be Solved?"
description: "After a decade-long IPO tutoring relationship with CITIC Securities, Nongfu Spring terminated the agreement in December 2018, stating it has no listing plans and does not need capital market support. The company's financials remain opaque, and speculation about its potential IPO continues."
author: "金晓岩"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2019-01-21"
language: "en"
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# 10-Year IPO Tutoring Ends Abruptly: When Will Nongfu Spring's Listing Mystery Be Solved?

> After a decade-long IPO tutoring relationship with CITIC Securities, Nongfu Spring terminated the agreement in December 2018, stating it has no listing plans and does not need capital market support. The company's financials remain opaque, and speculation about its potential IPO continues.

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**A decade-long dream finally ends.**
On January 12, the Zhejiang Regulatory Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) released a report by CITIC Securities on terminating its tutoring of Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd., showing that the IPO tutoring ended in December 2018. This came 10 years after the tutoring plan was signed with CITIC Securities in 2008.
In response, Nongfu Spring stated that the company has no listing plans and does not need to leverage the capital market, hence the termination. Whether Nongfu Spring will continue to plan an IPO in the future, and what originally prompted its listing ambitions, remain questions.
**Termination of 10-Year IPO Tutoring**
On January 12, the Zhejiang Regulatory Bureau of the CSRC published a report by CITIC Securities Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "CITIC Securities") regarding the termination of tutoring for Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Nongfu Spring").
The report shows that on March 20, 2008, CITIC Securities and Nongfu Spring signed the "Cooperation Framework Agreement for Initial Public Offering of Shares between Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd. and CITIC Securities Co., Ltd.," and on May 22, 2008, signed the "Tutoring Work Agreement for Initial Public Offering of Shares between Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd. and CITIC Securities Co., Ltd." On December 29, 2018, after friendly consultation, both parties signed a termination agreement for the aforementioned tutoring agreement.
In recent years, rumors about Nongfu Spring's listing have been frequent. However, in June 2017, Nongfu Spring's chairman and general manager Zhong Shanshan publicly stated, **"The capital market emphasizes demand and being demanded, but Nongfu Spring currently has no demand, so it does not need to go public."**
As a non-listed company, the financial data of this established FMCG enterprise has remained a mystery. According to the "Zheshang National 500 List" published annually by Zheshang Magazine, Nongfu Spring's operating revenue from 2014 to 2017 was 9 billion yuan, 12.6 billion yuan, 15 billion yuan, and 16.25 billion yuan, respectively.
It is worth noting that, unlike Nongfu Spring, its sister company under the same parent Yangshengtang, Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co., Ltd., is actively planning to go public. On November 16, 2018, the CSRC website disclosed Wantai Biological's prospectus for its initial public offering. The company plans to publicly issue no more than 43.6 million shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, raising 380 million yuan.
According to the prospectus, Wantai Biological's controlling shareholder is Yangshengtang Co., Ltd., holding 63.35% of its shares. Zhong Shanshan, the actual controller of Yangshengtang, directly holds 20.2053% of Wantai Biological's shares, making him the actual controller of that company.
It is reported that Wantai Biological was established in 1991 and is mainly engaged in the R&D, production, and sales of in vitro diagnostic reagents, in vitro diagnostic instruments, and vaccines. Its core technologies include an open fully automated tubular chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer, the hepatitis E vaccine "Yikening" with four global intellectual property rights, and a domestic cervical cancer vaccine.
In this regard, Zhu Danpeng, a researcher at the China Food Business Research Institute, pointed out that compared to the beverage sector, Wantai Biological has stronger bargaining power and revenue capability, making it the "listing pioneer" among Yangshengtang's subsidiaries. Data shows that Wantai Biological is engaged in the R&D, production, and sales of in vitro diagnostic reagents, instruments, and vaccines.
In fact, Nongfu Spring's chairman Zhong Shanshan also has a sense of crisis. Previously, he stated that traditional enterprises are facing various difficulties; most are small-scale, heavily taxed, and at the bottom of society, long squeezed by financial, real estate, and internet e-commerce companies. Traditional enterprises and high-tech internet companies have long been in an unfair competitive environment, and in public opinion, traditional enterprises are like silent lambs.
**The Mystery of Nongfu Spring's Listing**
As the most well-known beverage segment under Zhong Shanshan, Nongfu Spring's parent company is Yangshengtang. Before founding Nongfu Spring, Zhong Shanshan established Yangshengtang in 1993, launching brands such as Yangshengtang Turtle and Soft-Shelled Turtle Pills and Duo'er Capsules. According to Tianyancha data, as of now, Zhong Shanshan is the legal representative of 97 enterprises, a shareholder of 4 enterprises, and a senior executive of 93 enterprises.
Headquartered in Hangzhou, Nongfu Spring was established in 1996 as a drinking water production enterprise. Its traditional products are mainly bottled mineral water sourced from deep water in Qiandao Lake. Other products include "Nongfu Orchard," "Scream," "Nongfu Tea," "Nongfu Soda," "Water-soluble C100," and "Oriental Leaves." Starting with the slogan "Nongfu Spring is a little sweet," Nongfu Spring has risen rapidly in recent years. Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd. is one of China's top 20 beverage companies and is also listed among China's top 500 enterprises.
Currently, China's bottled water market has reached 150 billion yuan, with the top five drinking water products, including Nongfu Spring, holding over 70% market share. According to data from China Business Industry Research Institute, in 2016, the six giants in bottled water were Nongfu Spring, China Resources C'estbon, Master Kong, Ganten, Wahaha, and Ice Dew, with Nongfu Spring ranking first at 18.96%.
As of press time, Nongfu Spring had not disclosed more information about its listing to China Times reporters, but Nongfu Spring told relevant media that the company currently has no listing plans.
Although Nongfu Spring is tight-lipped about listing, stories about its IPO have been circulating in the market.
In March 2017, some media reported that Nongfu Spring might go public, providing a list of companies in Zhejiang under tutoring for listing, with Nongfu Spring prominently listed. However, this news was quickly denied by Nongfu Spring's official channels. Zhou Li, the board secretary of Nongfu Spring, personally stated that there were no listing plans, calling it "old news."
Subsequently, in November 2017, the capital market rumored that Nongfu Spring would go public through a backdoor listing of "George White (002687)." After the news spread, the stock price of Zhejiang George White Apparel Co., Ltd. saw cumulative closing price increases exceeding 20% over several consecutive trading days. However, George White issued an announcement denying the backdoor listing rumors.
In fact, as early as around 2000, news about Nongfu Spring's listing began to circulate. However, with repeated disappointments, many industry insiders, even former employees, began to believe that Nongfu Spring did not need to go public.
There is also an industry view that Nongfu Spring's success requires Zhong Shanshan's "autocracy" as a guarantee. Once listed and financed, Zhong Shanshan's authority within Nongfu Spring would inevitably be influenced by shareholders.
Source: China Times
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