On August 10, 2026, Guangdong Huicheng Vacuum Technology Co.,Ltd. (Shenzhen: 301392) issued a private placement proposal that immediately drew market attention. The vacuum coating equipment company, which listed on the ChiNext board in June 2024, plans to issue shares to no more than 35 specific investors, raising up to 955 million yuan. This news sparked significant controversy.

Just 26 months after its IPO, the company is seeking nearly 1 billion yuan in new financing—almost four times the 242 million yuan raised in its initial public offering. What further unsettles investors is the company's deteriorating financial performance: net profit for 2025 was only 22.25 million yuan, a staggering 72.5% drop from the 81.08 million yuan recorded in 2023. Additionally, the company's previous IPO-funded research and development center project has just been delayed by 18 months, and a major shareholder recently cashed out hundreds of millions of yuan at elevated share prices. With earnings, projects, and stock price all at sensitive junctures, what secrets lie behind Guangdong Huicheng's 955 million yuan private placement?

According to the placement plan, the issue price will be no less than 80% of the average stock trading price over the 20 trading days before the pricing benchmark date. The offering is limited to 35 investors, with a lock-up period of just six months. As of August 13, 2026, the company's shares traded at 167.47 yuan, giving it a dynamic price-to-earnings ratio of about 150 times. This combination—a six-month lock-up, a 20% discount, and a 150x valuation—presents a classic arbitrage opportunity. Who will attend this feast? The plan does not say. Whether the controlling shareholder will participate is also undisclosed. However, one fact is certain: the company's actual controller, Luo Zhiming, was recently publicly criticized by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange for concealing a shareholding proxy agreement. In April 2026, the exchange determined that Luo had hidden a "Share Proxy Agreement" with a third party, Mr. Yan, during the IPO. The agreement, signed in October 2020, transferred 750,000 shares of Guangdong Huicheng to Mr. Yan, with Luo holding them on Yan's behalf until an arbitration ruling in January 2026 invalidated the agreement. When the company applied for its IPO, Luo failed to disclose this arrangement to the company or its intermediaries, resulting in inaccurate and incomplete information in the prospectus and related filings. Consequently, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued a public reprimand to Luo Zhiming.

The status of the company's previous IPO-funded projects further undermines the rationale for this new placement. Guangdong Huicheng's 2024 IPO raised net proceeds of 241.73 million yuan. One project, the "Vacuum Coating R&D Center," was originally expected to be ready for use by June 5, 2026. However, on May 28, 2026, the company suddenly announced a delay of 18 months, pushing the completion date to December 5, 2027. As of the end of the first half of 2026, the project's investment progress was less than 50%. The factory for the previous project is not yet built, yet the company seeks financing for a new one. Is this industrial upgrading, or just a repackaging of old ideas? More concerning, the new placement's target project—the "Ultra-Precision Semiconductor and Continuous PVD Equipment Industrialization Project"—also involves high-grade cleanroom construction and imported equipment purchases. What reason do investors have to believe this new project will be completed on time?

The placement plan paints a promising picture: domestic semiconductor substitution, self-reliant PVD equipment, and capturing high-end markets. But the actual financial results tell a different story. From 2023 to 2025, the company's revenue fell from 522 million yuan to 470 million yuan, while net profit plummeted 72.5% from 81.08 million yuan to 22.25 million yuan. Between August and November 2025, a major shareholder, Nanshan Jiaqiao, which held more than 5% of shares, reduced its stake through block trades and centralized bidding, selling 2.47 million shares (2.47% of total equity) at average prices of 171.37 yuan and 186.79 yuan, cashing out approximately 430 million yuan. Less than nine months after this high-level cash-out, the company announced a 955 million yuan refinancing plan. Although Nanshan Jiaqiao is not a controlling or actual controller, the pattern of operations revealed here warrants caution from every investor.

Note: This article was written with the assistance of AI tools to collect and organize market data and industry information.