Suning announced that "the participation of state-owned assets will lay a solid foundation for the stable and healthy development of the company."
On the evening of July 5, the Nanjing-based retailer announced to the public that a consortium of the Jiangsu government led the establishment of Jiangsu New Retail Innovation Fund, reaching a full scale of CNY 8.83 billion, inviting Alibaba, Xiaomi, Haier, Midea, TCL and other industrial investors to participate.
The announcement shows that the Fund will make up 16.96% of Suning's equity, to support the firm in dealing with liquidity problems, stabilizing the financing environment, promoting stable operation and sustainable development of enterprises. Moreover, Taobao's shareholding in Suning remained at 19.99%, which confirms that the recent rumor that "Alibaba will become the major shareholder of Suning" is not valid. According to an insider, Alibaba and other industrial partners participated in this New Retail Innovation Fund with the short-term aim of promoting the stable operation of Suning and the long-term aim of strengthening industrial collaboration.
On June 2, the company announced that its shareholder, Suning Appliance Chain Store Group, had signed a Share Transfer Agreement with Jiangsu New Retail Innovation Fund. Suning Appliance Chain Store Group transferred 520 million shares (5.59% of the company's total share) to the Fund, with a total transfer price of about CNY 3.18 billion