Guiyang Bank's 1.6B Yuan Debt Recovery from 'Zhengwei' Ends as No Assets Found

Court Suspends Enforcement Due to Lack of Executable Assets

September 22, 2025 — The 1.6 billion yuan (approximately US$220 million) lending dispute between Guiyang Bank (601997.SH) and companies affiliated with the Zhengwei Group has reached an interim conclusion.

On the evening of September 21, Guiyang Bank announced that in the latest enforcement progress of a contract dispute involving its Shuanglong Airport Branch, the Guiyang Intermediate People's Court had issued a ruling to terminate the current enforcement proceedings. The court determined that after exhaustive property investigation measures, no other executable assets belonging to the defendants were found.

Liu Haibin, Deputy Director and Managing Partner of Shanghai Dingda Law Firm, explained to Times Finance on September 22 that "termination of enforcement proceedings" is a procedural conclusion where the court legally suspends enforcement due to the lack of executable assets or the temporary inability to dispose of existing assets.

However, Liu emphasized that this does not signify a final resolution of the case. "It is a 'temporary closure' in judicial proceedings. The bank's creditor rights as the applicant for enforcement still exist," he said. "Objectively speaking, the difficulty of recovering funds through judicial enforcement channels in the short term is indeed very high. The ultimate hope often depends on the disposal value of secured assets and the debtor's willingness and ability to repay. If the debtor's business situation improves in the future or new asset leads emerge, the bank still has an opportunity to recover the funds."

Origin of the Dispute

The lawsuit originated from lending disputes between Guiyang Bank and companies under the Zhengwei Group, controlled by Wang Wen Yin, known as the "World Copper King." The case was formally filed in February 2024, involving a total amount of 1.658 billion yuan.

In June 2021, Guiyang Bank provided a comprehensive credit facility of 1.6 billion yuan to Guizhou International Commodity Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. ("Guizhou International"). According to Tianyancha, Guizhou International's controlling shareholder is Shenzhen Zhengwei (Group) Co., Ltd., with Wang Wen Yin as the ultimate controller. Wang, once ranked 91st on the 2022 Forbes Global Billionaires List with a net worth of US$17.7 billion, saw his business empire's cash flow abruptly collapse around 2023.

To secure the large credit facility, Guiyang Bank had signed maximum guarantee contracts with Zhengwei Group, Wang Wen Yin, and multiple related parties, providing joint guarantees. The bank also secured 16 property mortgages and equity pledges as additional safeguards.

Legal Proceedings and Asset Recovery Challenges

In February 2024, Guiyang Bank's Shuanglong Branch filed a lawsuit against ten defendants, including Guizhou International, Zhengwei Group, and Wang Wen Yin, seeking repayment of loan principal, bill advances, unmatured acceptance amounts, and accrued interest, penalties, and compound interest totaling 1.658 billion yuan.

In December 2024, Guiyang Bank won the first-instance verdict. The court ordered Guizhou International to pay loan principal and bill advances totaling 1.584 billion yuan plus corresponding interest within a specified period. The bank was also granted priority rights to the proceeds from the auction or sale of 16 properties in Shenzhen and pledged equity.

However, none of the defendants fulfilled their obligations. In September 2025, Guiyang Bank applied for compulsory enforcement. While some mortgaged properties were auctioned successfully, the recovery rate remains low. According to an appraisal report disclosed on the auction platform, the total assessed value of the 16 properties is only 162 million yuan — a fraction of the 1.6 billion yuan principal.

Property Auctions Face Repeated Failures

The 16 Shenzhen properties, once considered "hard currency" at the time of lending, have become "hot potatoes." In May 2025, the first batch of six commercial office units in Shenzhen's Futian central district was listed for judicial auction on the Alibaba Asset platform. With a total area of approximately 1,179 square meters and a starting price of 29.358 million yuan (approximately 25,000 yuan per square meter), the properties attracted no buyers.

A subsequent auction on September 7 saw the starting price reduced to 27.89 million yuan, but the properties again failed to sell. Additionally, two residential units in Shenzhen's Tianyuxiangshan Garden, located in the luxury Xiangmihu district with an assessed unit price of approximately 150,000 yuan per square meter, were also listed for auction with a starting price of 22.3 million yuan. Used as employee dormitories by the defendants, these properties also failed to attract any bids on September 7.

Asset Quality Under Pressure

For Guiyang Bank, while the 1.6 billion yuan loan is substantial, the bank stated that it had already fully provisioned for asset impairment on all related loans and bill advances in previous years. Therefore, the current proceedings will not have a material impact on the bank's current or future profits.

However, the cumulative effect of multiple large non-performing loans is testing Guiyang Bank's asset quality management capabilities. Beyond the Zhengwei case, the bank is also involved in a major contract dispute with Jiuzhou Mingcheng, where a 315 million yuan claim was similarly terminated by the court due to the defendant's lack of executable assets. Guiyang Bank has also fully provisioned for impairment on this claim.

According to the bank's semi-annual report for the first half of 2026:

• Non-performing loan balance: 6.385 billion yuan, an increase of 797 million yuan from the beginning of the year
• Non-performing loan ratio: 1.78%, up 0.19 percentage points from the beginning of the year
• Provision coverage ratio: 229.57%, down 6.05 percentage points from the end of the previous year

The bank attributed the increase to its prudent risk classification approach, classifying loans with changed risk characteristics as non-performing, while the pace of clearing and disposing of existing non-performing loans slowed during the period.

By industry, as of June 30, 2026, the bank's corporate loan non-performing rate stood at 1.36%, up 0.06 percentage points from 1.30% at the end of the previous year. Several industries saw increases, with wholesale and retail trade (4.64%) and manufacturing (2.33%) recording particularly high non-performing loan ratios.

Profitability Challenges

In the first half of 2026, Guiyang Bank reported operating income of 7.207 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.87%, but net profit attributable to shareholders fell 4.61% to 2.360 billion yuan — a case of rising revenue without corresponding profit growth. The bank acknowledged that the decline was primarily due to increased impairment provisions on certain risk assets to enhance risk resilience.

Expert Commentary

Liu Haibin of Shanghai Dingda Law Firm noted that many financial institutions, when competing for "premium large clients," often relax concentration risk management thresholds, assuming that "the government will rescue large clients if problems arise, or banks will jointly extend maturities." However, they overlook the highly contagious nature of group client risks. Once the parent company's cash flow breaks, related guarantees and inter-company lending among subsidiaries can quickly trigger a chain reaction.

"Financial institutions must strictly implement 'group limit' management, treating all related enterprises under the same ultimate controller as a single risk exposure," Liu advised. "They should set internal self-discipline red lines stricter than regulatory requirements and conduct comprehensive assessments of risks across entire corporate groups."