After 760 Million Yuan Acquisition of Durui Pharma, "Bicycle Tycoon" Separates Pharmaceutical Wholesale and Other Businesses to Subsidiary

Everyday Economic News Reporter | Chen Xing Everyday Economic News Editor | Chen Junjie

In October 2025, when “bicycle industry giant” Wang Qingtai entered the market with 760 million yuan to acquire control of Duorui Pharmaceutical (SZ301075, stock price 83.75 yuan, market value 6.7 billion yuan), the market began to watch how this entrepreneur, who started from scrap metal, would manage a listed pharmaceutical company in loss.

Five months later, on the evening of March 17, 2026, Duorui Pharmaceutical announced a board reshuffle, with the controlling shareholder and actual controller nominating Wang Qingtai, Cao Xiaobing, and Liu Yongchao as non-independent directors. All three lack a background in the pharmaceutical industry, which means that once the shareholders’ meeting approves these candidates, this growth enterprise on the ChiNext will be officially led by a cross-industry team.

Meanwhile, the company amended its articles of incorporation, planning to cancel permits requiring GSP (Good Supply Practice) certification, such as drug wholesale and Class III medical device operations. A person from Duorui Pharmaceutical’s secretarial office told the Daily Economic News that this move involves transferring GSP-related business from the parent company to subsidiaries as part of the group’s overall plan. Financial data shows that GSP-related business has long played a role characterized by “large revenue scale but low profit contribution.”

The board reshuffle announcement on the evening of March 17 shows that the company’s controlling shareholder and actual controller nominated Wang Qingtai, Cao Xiaobing, and Liu Yongchao as candidates for the third session of the non-independent directors. The Daily Economic News reporter noted that all three lack a background in the pharmaceutical industry.

Wang Qingtai’s story begins in a farming family in Guangzong, Hebei. Born in 1979, after dropping out of middle school, he started a modest business—collecting scrap metal. In 1998, after a brief study at an agricultural school, Wang turned his attention to the pillar industry of his hometown—bicycle parts processing. Xingtai in Hebei is a major bicycle manufacturing base in China. In 2014, he founded Hebei Tianwang Bicycle Technology Co., Ltd., and later established several companies including Qingqi Intelligent Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., Hebei Tianqing Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., and Hebei Tongxi Bicycle Co., Ltd.

According to local media reports, his two leading bicycle companies have invested a total of 748 million yuan, with annual taxes of over 30 million yuan, and employ more than 1,000 people, making them an important OEM base for children’s bicycles in Hebei Province.

Cao Xiaobing, the other nominee, also has no background in the pharmaceutical industry and has a strong “steel and concrete” vibe. Born in 1977, he initially worked at Beijing Construction Engineering Group. Later, he moved to Nanguo Real Estate Co., Ltd., a listed company mainly engaged in commercial real estate development, where he continued to focus on construction. In 2012, he founded Beijing Golden Triangle Zhongmu Technology Co., Ltd., and in 2019, he acquired Qinhuangdao Siyuan Trading Co., Ltd. He also holds positions in several equity investment firms, extending his reach from industry to capital. Currently, Cao Xiaobing holds 9.6 million shares of Duorui Pharmaceutical, accounting for 12% of the total.

The third candidate, Liu Yongchao, also has no connection to the pharmaceutical industry. In 1990, he started working at a grain bureau in a county in Xingtai, Hebei. In 2011, he joined Huichang Botanical Garden, then crossed into the stone industry, serving as general manager of Xin Fuyuan Stone Industry. Since 2022, he has been working at Huichang Group. Unlike Wang Qingtai and Cao Xiaobing, Liu Yongchao currently does not hold any shares in the company.

Notably, compared to previously disclosed information about concerted actions, the current list of board candidates does not include one of the actual controllers, Cui Zihao. The announcement states that Wang Qingtai, Cui Zihao, and Cao Xiaobing remain in a concerted relationship, and if disagreements arise, Wang Qingtai’s opinion will prevail in voting. This means that although Cui Zihao is not on the board, the three still maintain close ties at the capital level.

Alongside the board reshuffle, Duorui Pharmaceutical’s other announcement to amend its articles of incorporation may reveal the company’s future direction.

According to the March 17 “Announcement on Amending the Articles of Incorporation,” the company plans to trim its scope of operations—cancelling permits for “drug wholesale,” “Class III medical device operations,” “import and export of drugs,” and “commissioned drug production.”

On the afternoon of March 18, a person from Duorui Pharmaceutical’s secretarial office told the Daily Economic News that “the company’s revision of scope involves removing permits for drug wholesale, Class III medical device operations, import/export, etc., which require GSP certification. The removal of GSP-related business only involves separation from the parent company and does not mean the group as a whole is ceasing such activities. The relevant sales entities have been shifted from the parent to subsidiaries like Tibet Duorui, as part of the group’s overall planning.”

Historically, GSP-related business has been a major component of the company’s “pharmaceutical distribution and others,” which has played a role characterized by “large revenue but low profit contribution.”

For example, in 2023, the company’s pharmaceutical distribution and other business generated revenue of 99.61 million yuan, accounting for 29.80% of total revenue, but with a gross profit margin of only 17.02%. This means nearly 30% of revenue came from circulation, yet contributed far less profit than formulation products. This feature was even more prominent in the first half of 2024: revenue from distribution and others surged to 84.02 million yuan, accounting for 55.87% of total revenue, surpassing formulation products for the first time as the largest source of income, but gross profit margin plummeted to 2.99%, indicating a micro-profit state. Meanwhile, the core formulation business maintained a high gross profit margin of 84.56%.

In the 2024 annual report and the first half of 2025 interim report, the “pharmaceutical distribution and others” category has disappeared, replaced by classifications based on product attributes such as formulations, intermediates, and raw materials. This change may signal that the company is gradually reducing its reliance on traditional distribution.

This “low-margin, high-volume, capital-consuming” business model might serve as a supplement to revenue growth when performance is good, but in the context of core products being impacted by centralized procurement and overall losses, it has become a burden that needs to be prioritized for divestment.

According to the performance forecast released in January 2026, Duorui Pharmaceutical expects a net loss attributable to shareholders of the listed company of between 76.24 million and 99.12 million yuan for 2025, representing an increase of 21.67% to 58.17% compared to the previous year. The company explained that the main reason is that the core product, sodium acetate Ringger injection, was awarded the tenth batch of national centralized drug procurement at the end of 2024. Since April 2025, after implementation, sales volume and prices have dropped sharply, leading to a significant decline in main business revenue and gross profit levels.

Cover image source: Media Library of Daily Economic News