On the evening of August 19th, Haiwei Huaxin posted an announcement on its official WeChat account. The title was calm, but the content was not. The company stated that the previous afternoon, about a hundred people swarmed into the office building, their target clear: the safe where the company seals were kept.
The safe door was pried open, and the party committee seal, the official company seal, the contract seal, and the legal representative's handwritten signature seal were all taken. The end of the announcement included several surveillance screenshot images showing people in similar uniforms. The company said it had reported the incident to the police, and as of the announcement's release, the seals had not been recovered.
A semiconductor company holding a national second-level confidentiality qualification, specializing in 6-inch Gallium Arsenide and Gallium Nitride pure wafer foundry services, lost its seals just like that. Quite unusual.
01| Ownership Relationship
Haiwei Huaxin was established in 2010 by CETC's 29th Research Institute and Hightech, with business involving the defense technology industry, making it a mixed-ownership enterprise with some local background.
In 2015, Hightech acquired Chengdu Jiashi Technology, a subsidiary of the 29th Research Institute, obtaining a 52.91% stake in Haiwei Huaxin and becoming the controlling shareholder. Hightech's own business is aircraft maintenance and pilot training.
The key fact is that the ownership relationship was originally clear. The variable appeared in 2021. That year, Haiwei Huaxin introduced a capital increase from Zhenwei Financial Holding, bringing in a massive 1.289 billion yuan. After the capital increase, Zhenwei Financial Holding held 34.01%, becoming the largest shareholder, while Hightech was diluted to 33.79%, falling to second place. Both sides agreed on a system of checks and balances at the time: Zhenwei would appoint the CFO, while Hightech would nominate three directors and appoint the chairman.
However, this mechanism failed to function.
Hightech stated that since May 2021, it couldn't even gain access to Haiwei Huaxin's premises.
According to information disclosed in court documents, in November 2021, the chairman appointed by Hightech expelled the CFO sent by the Zhenwei side and took away the financial seal and online banking U-shields. Access denied, but seals grabbed—both sides have taken action. Hightech also publicly accused Haiwei Huaxin of keeping over twenty black goats, as well as chickens, ducks, and geese within the factory premises, and planting peanuts and pumpkins on vacant land. Semiconductor production lines have clear requirements for a clean environment; running a chip factory as a pastoral farmstead. These descriptions were so vivid that everyone found them believable, hahaha.
In November 2023, a state-owned entity took over Zhenwei Financial Holding, renaming it Qingdao Haiyue Holdings. According to Hightech's side, after the takeover, Haiyue violated the Company Law and the company's articles of association, forcibly took control, illegally amended the articles, and changed the legal representative to Ma Xiaoli.
02| Lawsuits and Control
The real conflict over money and power came later. Hightech sued the other party, and through several rounds of litigation from 2024 to 2026, Hightech won each time.
This January, the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court issued a final second-instance ruling, revoking the invalid shareholders' and board meetings resolutions made by the Haiyue side. In March, the Trade Arbitration Commission issued a final ruling, confirming Hightech's right to nominate three directors, appoint the chairman, and nominate the general manager.
The judgments were issued, but the seals and certificates still didn't return. According to Hightech, the Haiyue side refused to comply with the effective judgments, ignoring demands to hand over the official seal and take over the financial books. Hightech could only say it won on paper, but didn't win back control.
03| Triple Value Discrepancy
Why is a seal worth over a hundred people showing up at the door? The numbers make it clear.
Someone on Xueqiu calculated based on the optical module market trend, estimating Haiwei Huaxin's valuation between 12 billion and 16 billion yuan.
Hightech's own market capitalization hovers around 9 billion yuan. Based on its 31.41% stake, the corresponding value of Haiwei Huaxin is between 3.7 billion and 5 billion yuan.
However, in Hightech's 2025 annual report, the book value of this long-term equity investment has dropped to only 832 million yuan.
Aircraft maintenance is a mature business with a low ceiling; what Hightech truly wants to bet on is semiconductors. Losing Haiwei Huaxin is equivalent to losing 40% to 50% of its worth.
Put these numbers together: the parent company's market cap is 9 billion yuan, the market values the subsidiary at over 12 billion, yet its book value is only 832 million yuan. On top of that, the parent company can't even enter the subsidiary's door, and can't get the seals back.
04| The Boundary of Seal Retrieval
On August 20th, Hightech responded to the incident, characterizing the action as 'seal retrieval,' categorizing it as shareholder rights protection, and claiming it was the result of consultation and consensus among the other five shareholders besides Qingdao Haiyue. Whether this statement is true or false cannot be judged now. Even if the five shareholders were truly unanimous, getting the seals is just a small step.
In the world of Chinese corporate battles, seal snatching is nothing new and happens repeatedly year after year. 'Not being the first to snatch the seal' has almost become a form of 'nuclear deterrence.'
In August 2014, NVC Lighting founder Wu Changjiang and major shareholder Wang Donglei fell out. Wang Donglei's side brought people into the company and took the official seal, with both sides telling different stories.
In December 2019, Weihai Holdings' shareholder side took away the official seal and online banking U-shields. The Ningbo Securities Regulatory Bureau later ordered corrective actions.
In April 2020, Li Guoqing led people into Dangdang's office area, taking 11 official seals and 36 financial seals; he brought four people at the time. In May of the same year, Bitmain's Zhan Ketuan was at a government service center to collect the business license, which was snatched away in public by people from the other side.
In November 2021, Zhenshutong announced the loss of control over its seals and certificates. The Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau took regulatory talk measures against the chairman, general manager, and board secretary.
05| Why Take Action
Why does no one take action first, but everyone ends up taking action eventually?
In the operation of Chinese companies, stamping contracts, dealing with banks, and processing changes—nothing can proceed without the seal. Whoever gets the seal in hand first holds the initiative in daily operations. Precisely because everyone knows the other side could also snatch it at any time, a tacit understanding forms in normal times: no one wants to be the first to flip the table.
This tacit understanding is the fragile balance in high-stakes corporate battles. 'Seal snatching' is too typical a phenomenon hanging over the governance of listed companies. Whichever company's governance rots first, its safe should expect trouble.
06| Ownership Undetermined
Balance aside, having the seal in hand is actually not very useful; it doesn't resolve the ownership issue. Perhaps watching too many movies and operas leads people to think it's like the Imperial Sword.
The other party can report it to the police, publish a notice declaring it void, or apply for a new seal and re-register with the bank.
Of course, going through this process takes time, during which the side without the seal cannot sign any contracts. It seems the only thing grabbing the seal accomplishes is buying time. The Weihai seal snatch in 2019 dragged on for four to five years before final resolution.
What Hightech's seal retrieval this time will achieve—whether it leads to Qingdao Haiyue finally handing over the seals and certificates, or triggers another tug-of-war—is uncertain at this point. It's just utterly absurd, letting everyone watch a farce.
An official seal cannot lock down control rights. The answer to listed company management has never been inside a safe.
This article is based on public information and does not constitute investment advice. For any inquiries, please contact [email protected].
Cold Eyes Watch the Market · Sharp Eyes Recognize the Game
This article is from WeChat Official Account: Qingyan Shangping , Author: Qingyan Shangping, Editor: Feng Biao
