Click to read the original text for details. Just as news broke that Nongfu Spring was undergoing IPO tutoring, there came news that Laoganma had received a survey from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It seems these profitable companies are always on people's minds. The well-known condiment company Laoganma received a survey from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and its listing has entered a cultivation period. It is reported that Laoganma has always adhered to the 'three no's' label of no listing, no loans, and no financing. Laoganma's founder Tao Huabi once proposed the 'listing to circle money' theory, believing that 'listing is about deceiving people's money.' Previously, 'Laoganma' had repeatedly rejected listing proposals from local governments. According to a message on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website on August 6, on July 25, Wang Hong, deputy general manager of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, led a team to Guizhou to survey Huochebang, Laoganma, and Yishu Pharmaceutical. Wang Hong stated that Guizhou enterprises are welcome to list or issue bonds on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and the exchange will, as always, provide professional support for Guizhou enterprises in areas such as issuance and listing, corporate bond issuance, and ABS. This news has led the market to speculate privately: Will Laoganma, which has adhered to 'no loans, no financing, no listing' for over 20 years, consider listing because of this 'temptation'? Netizens once jokingly referred to Laoganma, Wahaha, Huawei, and SF Express as the 'No-Listing Alliance' among well-known domestic enterprises that insist on not going public, and even made up a rhyme: The four old companies that never list SF Express, Huawei, Laoganma And one more, Wahaha However, this alliance has begun to disintegrate. 'The benefits of listing are nothing more than circling money and obtaining the funds needed for enterprise development. SF Express also lacks money, but SF Express cannot list for money, nor will it list for the sake of listing.' In 2011, Wang Wei, chairman of SF Express, said this in a media interview when asked why SF Express did not go public. Five years later, in 2016, among the 'Three Tong and One Da' (STO, YTO, ZTO, and Yunda), ZTO Express chose to go public in the US, while YTO, Shentong, and Yunda all listed on the A-share market through backdoor listings. Against this backdrop, SF Express also listed on the A-share market through a backdoor listing of Dingtai New Materials. After SF Express went public, Wang Wei also took the throne as the richest man in private express delivery. Zong Qinghou, chairman of Wahaha, who had always claimed 'not short of money and not listing,' also began to soften. On March 24 this year, Zong Qinghou stated, 'The Wahaha Group is not short of money now. We are also investing in high-tech industries. When we make significant investments in high-tech industries, we may also consider listing.' Wahaha's pressure mainly comes from itself. Public data shows that after reaching a peak revenue of 78.28 billion yuan in 2013, Wahaha began to decline year after year. Revenues from 2014 to 2017 were 72 billion, 49.4 billion, 52.9 billion, and 45.6 billion yuan respectively, shrinking by more than 30 billion yuan in five years. As for Huawei, on March 19, China Merchants Securities judged in a research report that Huawei intends to participate in the current round of capital market 'new economy' strategy. However, Huawei said in a media interview that it had never heard of listing and still adheres to its previous idea of not going public. Industry insiders point out that, overall, listing has three benefits for enterprise development: First, through the capital platform, obtain the funds needed for development; Second, standardize corporate operations and improve corporate governance structure; Third, enhance the company's brand value and increase visibility. From the situation of Laoganma and Huawei, to a large extent, the two companies are not resistant to listing. Take listing financing as an example, as Huatai Securities pointed out. Laoganma adopts a cash-sale model of 'no arrears, no credit sales,' resulting in zero days of accounts receivable turnover and ample cash flow. Therefore, among Laoganma's three adherences, besides 'no listing,' there are also 'no loans' and 'no financing.' To add a bit more, in the consumer goods industry, it is an 'industry rule' for some leading companies with strong brands to fully utilize supply chain funds through accounts payable. When Huatai Securities studied Laoganma in 2016, it found that the accounts payable turnover period of several leading companies in the same industry was over 30 days, while Laoganma, with zero accounts payable, had to be called an 'outlier.' Some analyses also point out that many companies' insistence on not listing is directly related to their shareholding structure. Wahaha, which has shown willingness to list, began cleaning up employee shareholding in March this year. When it was founded in 1987, Wahaha was a state-owned enterprise. After restructuring and joint ventures, Wahaha became a company with full employee shareholding. This shareholding structure, while motivating employees, also formed an institutional obstacle to listing. But Laoganma's shareholding structure is very simple. Tao Huabi is the chairman of the company, and her two sons, Li Miaoxing and Li Guishan, hold 51% and 49% of the company's shares respectively, one responsible for production and the other for marketing. This also ensures Tao Huabi's control over the company and flexibility in business decisions. At the same time, industry insiders point out that whether to choose listing and when to choose listing need to grasp the appropriate timing while combining the company's own situation. For example, SF Express and Wahaha, which had always insisted on not listing, both softened when industry competition and their own development changed. Another example is Xiaomi, which attracted much attention and once insisted on not listing but eventually went public. Not listing does not mean there is no market attention. In fact, the capital market has always been thinking about them. From 2015 to 2016, CICC Securities did a series of in-depth reports on unlisted companies, including Wahaha and Huawei. Extended Reading Huawei, Wahaha, and Laoganma insist on not listing Netizens: Why so stubborn? Xiaomi has listed Ma Yun said the temperature of the word 'listing' has never dropped. In 2014, Sina Weibo listed, JD.com listed, and Alibaba also listed. But there are still some enterprises that insist on not listing, such as Huawei. Why are they so stubborn? On June 16, Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, faced domestic media for the first time in an interview. During the interview, Ren Zhengfei repeatedly emphasized that Huawei does not unilaterally pursue enterprise scale, and Huawei's development does not lack funds, so it will not enter the capital market and absolutely will not list. 'If a large amount of capital enters Huawei, it will diversify and destroy the management that Huawei has not fully sorted out in more than 20 years.' Ren Zhengfei also said that Huawei's listing would make a large number of employees wealthy, 'which may make us increasingly lazy and lose the essential color of strivers.' As a former richest man in China, the Wahaha Group led by Zong Qinghou is a company that has not gone public. Zong Qinghou once said that Wahaha is not short of money and has no need for listing financing. 'We have 10 billion in cash,' and 'There are many listed companies that fake their reports.' Zong Qinghou feels that although Wahaha is not listed, its corporate governance level is far higher than some listed companies. Whenever investment companies come to the door, Mao Zhongqun, president of Fotile Group, will reject them one by one. Mao Zhongqun always adheres to the 'three no principles' - 'no listing, no price wars, no deception.' He said, 'The most important thing in doing high-end is to endure loneliness. You can't be envious when you see others' mid-to-low-end markets are big. We never do OEM for others because we are not positioned as the 'world's factory.' What Fotile wants to build is a brand.' Tao Huabi, founder of Laoganma, once said, 'I firmly refuse to list. Once listed, I might go bankrupt. Listing is about deceiving people's money. If you have money, you take it. Circle the money, ask them to invest, and then when the money is taken away, I'll pay the debt. I won't do that. So whenever a government official talks to me about listing, I tell them: Don't even talk about it! No discussion! If you ask me for money, I don't have it. If you want my life, I have one.' 'The purpose of listing generally has two: one is to increase visibility, and the other is financing.' Xu Xiaodong, vice president and chief spokesperson of Liby Group, frankly stated: 'And we don't need either of these for now. We advertise every day, so we are already a household name; as for funds, we are the first company in the industry to pay before delivery and break the industry's triangular debt, so our cash flow is very smooth.' These awesome companies all insist on not listing. Some netizens commented: Why so stubborn? Xiaomi has listed; but listing or not has advantages and disadvantages, mainly depending on the company's own situation. Source: China Securities Journal -END-