SOURCE / COMPANIES
Suning sells 23% stake to state-owned investors to improve equity structure, long-term strategy
Published: Feb 28, 2021 09:28 PM
A logistics center owned and operated by Chinese e-commerce giant Suning.com in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province is stockpiling items to brace for the shopping promotion day on Tuesday. This single center has over 20 million items in stock, of which 500,000 items are from domestic brands such as Huawei. Photo: VCG

A logistics center owned and operated by Chinese e-commerce giant Suning.com in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province is stockpiling items to brace for the shopping promotion day. This single center has over 20 million items in stock, of which 500,000 items are from domestic brands such as Huawei. Photo: VCG



Suning.com, one of China's largest retail groups and the owner of Italian football club Inter Milan, sold 23 percent of its stake to state-owned investors in order to improve its equity structure and its long-term strategy. 

According to a statement by Suning.com sent to the Global Times on Sunday, Shenzhen International Holdings Ltd, which is principally engaged in logistics and toll roads, acquired 8 percent of Suning's stake and Shenzhen-based kpcapital under the People's Government of Shenzhen Municipal bought 15 percent of its stake.

"Introducing state strategic shareholders is beneficial for the company to further focus on retail services, strengthen the core building of retail in all scenarios, and improve the operational efficiency and profitability of the company's assets and business," Suning.com said in the statement, adding the sale is in line with the company's future strategic development.

The two buyers, together with other state-owned enterprises in the city of Shenzhen, will empower Suning.com to boost its operations in supply chains, e-commerce, technology, logistics and duty-free businesses, read the statement. 

Necessary support in finance and taxation will be provided to the retail giant after coordination, analysts said.

After the deal worth 14.8 billion yuan ($2.28 billion) in total, Zhang Jindong, the billionaire founder of Suning, remains the largest shareholder of the group. 

On Sunday, Suning announced plans to set up its South China headquarters in Shenzhen, the tech hub of China. Relying on the advantages of local sources, the headquarters can improve the company's operational capacity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and raise the brand's profile in the region, effectively increasing market share. 

Shares of Suning.com were temporarily suspended in Shenzhen on Thursday as Suning said a group of shareholders were looking to transfer up to one-quarter of the shares to infrastructure and other industrial investors. 

After submitting an application for the resumption of trading to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Suning.com shares will resume trade on March 1.

However, debt obligations of the company loom, as the total liabilities of Suning.com grew from 25 billion yuan in 2010 to 149.71 billion yuan in 2019, domestic financial media xcf.cn reported on Thursday. 

According to statistics released on Friday by Suning.com, the company's sales revenue reached 416.315 billion yuan in 2020, with online sales accounting for nearly 70 percent. 

Global Times