Shanshan Group’s General Manager Reportedly Under Judicial Control after China Shanshan Group’s Explosion

Shanshan Group, once the first listed company in the Chinese clothing industry, has rapidly declined in the two years since the death of its founder Zheng Yonggang in February 2023.

According to reports from the financial industry, the Shanshan Group, which used to dominate the Chinese business world with the “Shanshan empire”, has recently made progress in its bankruptcy reorganization. Shanshan Shares recently announced that its controlling shareholder, Shanshan Group, received a civil ruling from the Ningbo Yinzhou District Court, formally accepting the application for bankruptcy reorganization by creditors.

This marks the beginning of the bankruptcy reorganization stage for the billion-dollar business empire built by founder Zheng Yonggang, which has experienced two years of internal struggles and debt crises.

Founded by Zheng Yonggang, a representative figure of the “Ningbo Gang”, in 1989, the Shanshan Group became the first listed company in the domestic clothing industry with “Shanshan suits”. After 2000, it transitioned to new energy, establishing a lithium battery negative electrode materials business and acquiring the polarizing film business of LG Chemical in 2021. By the end of 2022, its holding companies exceeded 420. However, Zheng Yonggang’s sudden death from a heart attack in February 2023 became the catalyst for the empire’s collapse.

According to a report from “Times Weekly” on March 23, 2024, Shanshan Group has successively disclosed multiple incidents of overdue loans and bond interest, unveiling a crisis in its financial chain. As of November 2024, the total interest-bearing debt of Shanshan Group and its core listed platform Shanshan Shares exceeded 30 billion yuan.

The debt crisis triggered a domino effect, causing the operational and financial conditions of the Shanshan Group to deteriorate repeatedly. The controlling rights of its listed companies were auctioned off, and it faced lawsuits from financial institutions, suppliers, and state-owned shareholders due to debt issues.

Amidst the crisis, Zheng Yonggang’s second wife, Zhou Ting, took on roles such as chairman of Shanshan Group and Shanshan Shares, succeeding Zheng Yonggang’s son from his first marriage, Zheng Ju, as the new helm of the Shanshan empire. However, this adjustment did not reverse the situation.

According to sources close to Zheng Ju, he took a flight to Japan last year and celebrated his birthday there in February this year.

In recent days, “Times Weekly” has learned from various sources that Li Zhihua, the general manager of Shanshan Shares, is currently under restricted measures by relevant institutions due to unresolved domestic cases. An informed source close to the Shanshan Group revealed, “Li Zhihua is still under restricted status.”

As the only listed company in the Shanshan Group at present, in late January this year, Shanshan Shares issued a performance forecast stating that it is expected to incur a net loss of approximately 320 million to 480 million yuan for the full year of 2024.