How does AI Zhang Bo reconstruct the valuation logic of Weiqiao Group through capital operations?

Under the boost of the aluminum industry cycle, China Hongqiao’s stock price has surged by 500% in recent years, with a current market value exceeding HKD 300 billion. As a second-generation successor, Zhang Bo not only maintains the industrial foundation built by his father but also leads this private aluminum giant to systematically reshape its capacity structure, industrial upgrading, and asset valuation while maintaining core profitability.

The King of Aluminum, still that King.

On the evening of March 20, China Hongqiao, the core Hong Kong-listed platform of Weiqiao Group, announced its annual results: total revenue of 162.353 billion yuan in 2025, up 3.96% year-on-year; net profit of 22.636 billion yuan, a slight increase of 1.18%.

On the day of the earnings release, China Hongqiao closed at HKD 34.5, with a market value of about HKD 344.3 billion. Notably, since 2024, China Hongqiao’s stock price has been rising steadily, with an increase of over 500% as of March 20 this year.

This leap in China Hongqiao’s stock market valuation is supported not only by the cyclical prosperity of the aluminum industry and the company’s solid operational performance but also by a major internal capital operation worth 63.5 billion yuan, which thoroughly reconstructed the group’s asset valuation logic.

01. Building a Global Aluminum King

The story of Weiqiao Group begins with Zhang Shiping.

In 1981, 35-year-old Zhang Shiping was appointed director of the Fifth Oil Cotton Factory in Zou County, Shandong. At that time, this small factory with 61 employees was deeply in the red. Through bold reforms, he turned losses into profits, and within a few years, it became the profit leader in the cotton and linen industry within the national supply and marketing system.

In 1985, with cotton sales sluggish, Zhang Shiping decided to build towel and spinning factories himself, transforming upstream raw materials into downstream finished products. In 1993, the oil cotton factory was renamed Zou County Weiqiao Cotton Textile Factory (the predecessor of Weiqiao Textile). Later, with precise grasp of policy trends and market cycles, Weiqiao Textile rapidly expanded; in 2003, it was listed in Hong Kong, and by 2005, it became the world’s largest cotton textile enterprise.

Zhang Shiping was thus known as the “Asian Cotton King.”

During the rapid expansion of textile business, electricity demand continued to surge. Zhang Shiping made a bold decision: to set up self-owned power plants to solve the power supply bottleneck. In 1999, Weiqiao Group’s first thermal power plant was completed and put into operation.

With the power plant in place, Zhang Shiping looked for the next industry with high electricity demand—his focus turned to aluminum. In 2002, Weiqiao Aluminum (the predecessor of China Hongqiao) was established, focusing on electrolytic aluminum.

In the electrolytic aluminum industry, electricity costs account for 40-50%. A difference of 0.1 yuan per kWh can lead to a cost difference of 1,500 to 2,000 yuan per ton of aluminum. At that time, Weiqiao Group’s electricity prices were nearly one-third cheaper than the national grid, giving it a cost advantage that allowed it to rapidly rise in the electrolytic aluminum industry.

Building on this, Weiqiao Group continued to extend upstream and downstream: upstream into alumina and bauxite, downstream into aluminum processing and new materials, ultimately forming a “self-supplied power + full industry chain integration” closed loop, known in the industry as the “Weiqiao Model.”

In March 2011, China Hongqiao was listed on the Hong Kong Main Board. By 2015, China Hongqiao’s production volume ranked at the top of the global aluminum industry, earning Zhang Shiping the title of “World Aluminum King.”

In September 2018, the 72-year-old Zhang Shiping stepped down, and his son Zhang Bo took over as chairman of Weiqiao Group. In May 2019, Zhang Shiping passed away. After several adjustments, his equity was ultimately distributed among his three children: Zhang Bo, Zhang Hongxia, and Zhang Yanhong.

Zhang Bo inherited a vast industrial empire combining textiles and aluminum. At that time, Weiqiao Group owned three listed platforms: Weiqiao Textile (later privatized and delisted), China Hongqiao, and Hongchuang Holdings. Prior to this, Zhang Bo had worked at Weiqiao Group for over 20 years, promoting the listing of Weiqiao Textile, participating in the rise of the aluminum and electricity sector, and leading the group’s overseas expansion.

02. Second-Generation Succession

After taking over, Zhang Bo led Weiqiao Group to achieve significant revenue growth: 283.5 billion yuan in 2018, surpassing 500 billion yuan in 2022, and reaching 558.533 billion yuan in 2024. For Zhang Bo, none of this came easily.

When Zhang Bo took over, Weiqiao Group was facing multiple challenges. In 2017, the group was sanctioned for exceeding 2.68 million tons of illegal capacity in the electrolytic aluminum industry, with nearly one-third being phased out; it was also criticized by the central environmental inspection team for issues related to its self-owned power plants. Meanwhile, the textile industry was also experiencing overcapacity.

Zhang Bo later recalled that the pressure was immense, but “reality was unstoppable; we could only go with the flow.” This marked the beginning of Weiqiao Group’s transformation toward “high-end, intelligent, and green” development.

The first step in this transformation was restructuring the energy system. In 2019, Weiqiao Group announced the transfer of aluminum capacity to Yunnan, leveraging local hydropower resources, planning to relocate 3.96 million tons—about 60% of the approved capacity. By the end of 2025, 2.176 million tons had already been put into operation in Yunnan.

Meanwhile, Weiqiao Group also deployed rooftop distributed photovoltaic projects in the Bohai region, which began grid connection in early 2020, saving an average of 103,400 tons of standard coal annually. By 2025, Weiqiao deepened cooperation with State Grid to address issues like green electricity share and consumption, gradually replacing the high-energy label with a green aluminum benchmark.

In addition to upstream capacity transfer, Zhang Bo expanded into high-end aluminum fields such as automotive lightweighting, high-speed rail, 5G, aerospace, and military industries. Among these, new energy vehicles became a core focus. Currently, Weiqiao supplies lightweight aluminum chassis and undercarriage products to multiple new energy vehicle brands. “A full aluminum body can be assembled in just 12 minutes.”

This “upstream capacity transfer + downstream industry deepening” dual strategy has solidified Weiqiao Group’s industrial foundation and China Hongqiao’s core competitiveness.

In recent years, the performance and valuation of China Hongqiao have also benefited from industry cycle dividends. From 2024 to 2025, the global aluminum industry is experiencing a boom. Downstream demand for new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, and grid upgrades is strong, while domestic electrolytic aluminum capacity has reached a ceiling of 45 million tons. Supply constraints and demand explosion have driven electrolytic aluminum prices from 18,000 yuan/ton in 2023 to 22,000 yuan/ton in 2025.

03. Capital Market Maneuvering

With a solid industrial foundation, Zhang Bo led the largest capital operation in Weiqiao Group’s history.

From late 2025 to early 2026, a “whale swallowing a smaller fish” style capital operation was completed within Weiqiao Group. The A-share platform Hongchuang Holdings, with total assets of 3 billion yuan, was acquired through a transaction valued at 63.5 billion yuan, taking 100% ownership of China Hongqiao’s core asset—Shandong Hongtuo Industrial Co., Ltd.

Hongtuo Industrial holds an electrolytic aluminum capacity of 6.459 million tons and an alumina capacity of 19 million tons, with annual revenue close to 150 billion yuan and total assets of 105 billion yuan, encompassing Weiqiao Group’s most critical green aluminum production base, complete industry chain, and high-quality operational assets.

This transaction was not paid in cash but through the issuance of 11.9 billion new shares. After the issuance, Zhang Bo and his siblings remained the actual controllers of Hongchuang Holdings.

The deeper logic of this operation lies in reconstructing Weiqiao’s aluminum assets across A+H dual platforms. Historically, the Hong Kong market has been conservative in valuing heavy asset cyclical companies, while A-shares tend to give a premium to “resource + growth” logic.

Post-transaction, Weiqiao Group’s aluminum assets form a relatively clear structure: Hongchuang Holdings on A-shares handles domestic production and operations; China Hongqiao on Hong Kong shares holds the group’s controlling stake and overseas mineral resources.

This capital maneuver shifted market valuation expectations: since the acquisition plan was announced at the end of December 2024, Hongchuang Holdings’ stock price has more than doubled, with a market value once surpassing HKD 430 billion. Meanwhile, China Hongqiao’s valuation also rose accordingly.

On January 30, 2026, Hongchuang Holdings officially adopted the new stock abbreviation—Hongqiao Holdings.

To employees of Weiqiao Group, Zhang Bo has increasingly resembled “Old Chairman” Zhang Shiping over the years. As a second-generation successor, he not only preserved the industrial empire built by his father but also led this private aluminum giant through a systematic restructuring of capacity, industry upgrading, and asset valuation, all while maintaining core profitability.

However, Zhang Bo’s journey is far from over. The capital market’s expectations are high, and whether Hongtuo Industrial can deliver on its performance commitments will be a key test of this capital maneuver’s success or failure.

(Author | Fan Lan, Editor | Lang Ming, Image Source | Visual China, Content from Caijing Tianxia WEEKLY)