On July 23rd, Ning Communication B (200468.SZ) announced that the actual controller and the controlling shareholder of the company plan to initiate the planning of a significant asset reorganization. The company intends to transfer 100% of the equity it holds in Nanjing Nanman Electric Co., Ltd. to the subsidiary of the controlling shareholder, Nanjing Rail Transit System Engineering Co., Ltd., in cash. Prior to this, the stock price of Ning Communication B had been in a long-term slump, approaching the 1 yuan warning line.

The aforementioned "shell preservation" operation is not an isolated case. Recently, with the continuous wave of delisting, several non-ST stocks have also started to sound the alarm for delisting. Compared with ST stocks, which are in the "disaster area" of delisting, these non-ST stocks have considerable market value, business scale, and employee numbers, but they still face the pressure of delisting.

Under the "face value delisting" race against time, many non-ST stocks are actively taking self-help measures, urgently introducing measures such as stock buybacks, major shareholder increases, and bankruptcy reorganization. Some companies have seized the opportunity to stand above the 1 yuan face value warning line, while others have made multiple attempts at self-help but still cannot escape the final chapter of delisting.

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The delisting risk of several non-ST stocks is imminent.

The wave of delisting has spread from ST stocks to non-ST stocks.

As of July 24th, four non-ST companies have delisted or are locked in for delisting, namely Zhengyuan Shares (600321.SH), Pengdu Agriculture (002505.SZ), Guanghui Auto (600297.SH), and Zhongyuan Cashmere (000982.SZ).

The latest non-ST company locked in for delisting is Guanghui Auto. On July 18th, Guanghui Auto was suspended, and the company's stock price has been below 1 yuan for 20 consecutive trading days. According to the listing rules of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the stock has met the conditions for termination of listing.

There are also non-ST stocks that have successfully saved themselves several times but have recently failed in A-shares. For example, Zhongyuan Cashmere, known as the "A-share phoenix," has been in a loss for many years since 2015, with multiple instances of being starred and capped. During this period, it successfully "preserved its shell" by selling assets and bankruptcy reorganization. However, in June of this year, the company was also locked in for delisting due to its stock price being below 1 yuan for 20 consecutive trading days.

In addition to the aforementioned companies, there are more non-ST stocks that have recently entered the delisting danger zone in a concentrated manner, frequently sounding the alarm. As of the close on July 23rd, the stock prices of Haiyin Shares, Dongfang Group, and Lingnan Shares have fallen below the 1 yuan face value "warning line." More than ten non-ST stocks, including Jilin Media, Yatai Group, Liyuan Shares, Huaxia Happiness, and Chongqing Steel, have stock prices below 1.2 yuan, just one step away from the 1 yuan warning line.

Most of these non-ST stocks have poor recent operating conditions. According to the statistics of Choice, among the aforementioned 19 stocks, 13 recorded losses in the first quarter. Fourteen companies have reported expected losses in their mid-year reports this year.However, there are also individual stocks with relatively good market value and operating conditions. For instance, Yongtai Energy, the company's latest market value is 24.8 billion yuan. According to the financial report, in the first quarter of 2024, Yongtai Energy achieved a revenue of 7.321 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.58%; the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company was 467 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.41%. According to the latest performance forecast, in the first half of 2024, the company is expected to achieve a net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company of 1.16 billion to 1.26 billion yuan, an expected year-on-year increase of 14.54% to 24.41%.

Market rescue measures are frequently introduced.

Compared with some ST stocks that "lie flat" and delist, non-ST stocks are more proactive in market rescue, and various "bottom-of-the-box" market rescue measures are also successively introduced.

The most common is to release information on increased holdings and buybacks to promote the rise of stock prices. Taking Chongqing Steel as an example, the company has "double-barreled" increased holdings and buybacks. At the critical moment when the stock price continued to approach the 1 yuan warning line, on June 5, the company initiated a share buyback with a scale of 50 to 100 million yuan, and on July 2, the purpose of the buyback was changed to the most investor-friendly "used for cancellation to reduce registered capital". On July 18, Chongqing Steel once again issued an announcement stating that the company received a "Notice of Plan to Increase Holdings of Chongqing Steel A Shares" from its actual controller, China Baowu Steel Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Baowu"), and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Huabao Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huabao Investment"). Huabao Investment plans to increase its holdings of the company's A shares with its own funds within 12 months, with the amount of the increase ranging from 150 to 300 million yuan.

In addition to "real gold and silver" increases and buybacks, some non-ST stocks also choose to try to "preserve the shell" through major transactions or restructuring. A recent example is Haiyin Shares. After the stock closing price fell below 1 yuan for 17 consecutive trading days, Haiyin Shares announced a suspension and released the news of planning to issue shares to purchase assets. The announcement shows that Haiyin Shares plans to acquire 51% of the equity of Jiangsu Jidian New Energy Co., Ltd., but the transaction method, the scope of the transaction counterparty, and the pricing have not been finally determined.

Similar to this is Dongfang Group. At the critical moment of the stock price crisis, the company released a "restructuring" signal. On June 18, due to the exposure of 1.6 billion yuan of deposits being locked in a financial company, Dongfang Group was investigated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the stock price continued to fall, once falling below 1 yuan for 16 consecutive trading days. On July 15, the company urgently disclosed that the Harbin Intermediate Court decided to start a pre-restructuring of the company. The next day, Dongfang Group's stock rose by 10.53%, successfully lifting above 1 yuan. From July 18 to July 23, the stock once again operated in the dangerous range below 1 yuan. On July 23, Dongfang Group once again announced that the company is publicly recruiting and selecting restructuring investors. On July 24, Dongfang Group's stock rose by 5.05% again, closing at 1.04 yuan per share.

Some companies also play a "combination punch" to save the stock price. For example, in addition to the aforementioned official announcement of purchasing assets, Haiyin Shares has started a series of operations to save the stock price at the end of June, frequently disclosing good news. On June 19, Haiyin Shares issued a plan for the controlling shareholder to increase holdings, and the controlling shareholder, Guangzhou Haiyin Industrial Group Co., Ltd., will increase holdings of 50 to 80 million yuan within 6 months. On July 12, Haiyin Shares announced that the first half of the year is expected to be profitable, with the net profit attributable to the parent company estimated to be between 90.0651 million yuan and 135 million yuan.

How effective is it?

After various self-rescue measures have been implemented, the results of the "shell preservation war" of listed companies are different.

Some companies' stock prices have risen immediately after the announcement of good news, stepping out of the face value delisting predicament. For example, Ning Communication B, the stock once fell to 1.06 yuan on July 22. However, after the announcement of the increase, on July 23 and 24, the stock continued to hit the daily limit for two consecutive days, and the stock price has been lifted to around 1.29 yuan, gradually moving away from the face value delisting warning line.Some companies have tried multiple self-rescue efforts but still struggle to reverse the dire situation. Taking Guanghui Automobile as an example, against the backdrop of a continuously declining stock price, on June 3rd, Guanghui Automobile announced a plan for the company's executives and Guanghui Group to increase their holdings. The controlling shareholder, Xinjiang Guanghui Industrial Investment (Group) Co., Ltd., plans to increase its holdings by 50 to 100 million yuan in company shares within six months. Influenced by this news, the stock price hit the daily limit up the next day, closing at 1.38 yuan per share. However, it continued to head downward and officially broke through the "life and death line" of 1 yuan on June 20th.

On July 10th, Guanghui Automobile announced again that Guanghui Group is currently planning to transfer company equity with Xinjiang Jinzheng New Material Technology Co., Ltd., which may trigger a change in the company's control rights. After that, the stock price rose for three consecutive days, reaching 0.97 yuan at the close on July 15th, just a step away from escaping the "death line." However, on July 17th and 18th, the stock price continued to hit the daily limit down, ultimately locking in the face value delisting.

However, more companies, after self-rescue, see a short-term increase in stock prices but still struggle on the brink of delisting. Among them, Yatai Group is a more typical case. After the closing price broke through 1 yuan on the fifth trading day, the company announced on June 26th the intention to use 30 to 50 million yuan of its own funds to repurchase shares, with a repurchase price not exceeding 1.6 yuan per share. The company's stock price then rose for several consecutive days, reaching 1.15 yuan at one point. However, the stock price then fluctuated downward, closing at 0.98 yuan on July 24th, breaking through the face value warning line again.

"Non-ST stocks on the brink of delisting are mostly in poor operating conditions recently, and investors vote with their feet," an industry analyst believes that in the current environment where delisting supervision is gradually increasing, the difficulty of "shell preservation" is also increasing day by day. If it is only emergency self-rescue and there is no real improvement in the basic situation, it is still difficult to solve the delisting "life and death situation."