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Since February this year, the founder of WahahaZong QinghouAfter his death, there have been constant discussions about Wahaha. Just today, it was reported online that the company was forced to resign by shareholders.Zong FuliAnnouncement of resignationWahaha GroupWahaha internal staff confirmed that the above news is true.

A letter signed by Zong Fuli, "To All Employees of Wahaha Group", was circulated online. The letter stated: "The People's Government of Shangcheng District, Hangzhou and some shareholders of Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd. (Wahaha Group) have questioned the rationality of my operation and management of Wahaha Group since the death of Chairman Zong Qinghou, which has made it impossible for me to continue to perform my management responsibilities for Wahaha Group and its holding companies. Therefore, I have decided to resign from the positions of Vice Chairman and General Manager of Wahaha Group from now on and will no longer participate in its operation and management."

Public information shows that although Zong Qinghou was previously the founder and chairman of Wahaha Group, the largest shareholder of Wahaha Group is Hangzhou Shangcheng District Cultural, Commercial and Tourism Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Shangcheng Cultural, Commercial and Tourism Holding"), which holds 46% of the shares. The company was successively 100% controlled by the Shangcheng District Finance Bureau, Shangcheng District State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and Shangcheng District State-owned Capital Operation Company, and is wholly owned by Hangzhou Shangcheng District state-owned assets.

Zong Qinghou himself holds 29.4% of Wahaha GroupEquity, is the second largest shareholder, and Wahaha Employee Stock Ownership Association holds the remaining 24.6% of the shares.

There have been speculations that although Zong Fuli is the only daughter of Zong Qinghou, she did not obtain direct equity and management rights at the Wahaha Group level before Zong Qinghou's death. "Even if she inherits all of her father's 29.4% equity, it is questionable whether she can achieve the same control over the Wahaha Group as her father."

In addition, information from multiple channels shows that Hangzhou State-owned Assets has always planned to sell off its shares in Wahaha Group.

As early as May 2006, Zong Qinghou said in an interview that he was negotiating with the Hangzhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission on the withdrawal of his 46% stake in Wahaha Group, but the matter was suspended due to the dispute between Wahaha and Danone.

In 2023, there was news of the transfer of the above assets again. The relevant bidding information query platform shows that in July 2023, Hangzhou Shangcheng State-owned Investment Holding launched a bidding for equity valuation and legal services for the proposed transfer of its 46% equity in Wahaha Group. Among them, Wanbang Asset Appraisal won the bid for the equity valuation service, and Grandall Law Firm won the bid for the legal services for equity disposal.

However, there has been no new information on the subsequent developments of the incident.

In addition, with the downward trend of the real estate industry, there have been reports of tight funds for Shangcheng District's cultural, commercial and tourism investment. Relevant information shows that since October 2022, Shangcheng District's cultural, commercial and tourism investment has continuously issued bonds worth more than 3 billion yuan. The financial report shows that in 2023, Shangcheng District's cultural, commercial and tourism investment achieved revenue of 914 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 17.29%; net profit of 14 million yuan fell by 91.67% year-on-year. It is worth noting that according to media reports, Shangcheng District's cultural, commercial and tourism investment had a net profit of 62 million yuan in the first three quarters of 2023, which means that Shangcheng District's cultural, commercial and tourism investment had a net loss of 38 million yuan in the fourth quarter of last year alone.

In addition to the Wahaha Group-related positions involved in this turmoil, Zong Fuli is still the president of Hongsheng Beverage Group and the legal representative of Wahaha's overseas investment company Zhejiang Qili Investment Co., Ltd.

(Chen Junhong)