Hong Kong-listed Chongqing Hongjiu Fruit Co., Ltd., once hailed as the “First Fruit Stock,” has officially concluded its stock market journey. On December 24, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong issued an official announcement, declaring the cancellation of Hongjiu Fruit’s listing status in accordance with relevant provisions of the Listing Rules. This move comes less than 40 months after the company debuted on the exchange in September 2022. Its market capitalization once soared to a peak of HK$67 billion but has now dwindled to approximately HK$2.8 billion at the time of its trading suspension, representing a staggering plunge of over 95%.
The direct triggers for the delisting were the company’s prolonged 20-month trading suspension and its failure to fulfill information disclosure obligations. On March 20, 2024, Hongjiu Fruit was forced to suspend trading after failing to disclose its 2023 annual results on time. Its then-auditor, KPMG, raised serious concerns regarding a significant advance payment of approximately RMB 4.47 billion.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Hongjiu Fruit made concentrated advance payments totaling about RMB 3.42 billion to several suppliers. Notably, most of these suppliers were newly added trading partners that year with no historical transaction records. More suspiciously, the registered capital of some suppliers was lower than the advance payments they received, and public records indicated that these entities had zero employees enrolled in social security.
These irregularities prevented the auditor from verifying the commercial substance and rationality of the related-party transactions. Failing to obtain satisfactory explanations and evidence from the company, KPMG resigned in April 2024. This led to the failure to produce the 2023 annual report and all subsequent periodic reports.
According to HKEX rules, the company faced delisting if it could not meet the conditions for resuming trading by September 19, 2025. Although Hongjiu Fruit applied for a review of the Listing Committee’s October 3 delisting decision in October, the Listing Review Committee ultimately upheld the original ruling.
Accompanying the financial turmoil was an even more severe criminal investigation. In April 2025, Hongjiu Fruit announced that several key personnel, including Chairman and founder Deng Hongjiu, several directors, and the chairman of the supervisory board, had been subjected to criminal coercive measures on suspicion of loan fraud and falsely issuing special value-added tax invoices. Simultaneously, starting January 2025, access to the company’s headquarters building was restricted by public security authorities, bringing normal operations to a standstill.
Although investigative measures against some senior executives were later lifted or eased, and the company claimed a gradual resumption of operations after May, its founder, Deng Hongjiu, remained under arrest.
Under these compounded blows, Hongjiu Fruit’s operations rapidly descended into crisis. Unable to repay maturing debts and with its funding chain severed, the company applied to the court for restructuring and pre-restructuring in May 2025, attempting to seek a lifeline by introducing strategic investors through judicial proceedings.
However, a full-blown corporate governance crisis erupted concurrently. In May of the same year, all three independent non-executive directors resigned collectively, citing the need to “devote more time to other business commitments.” This left the board without any independent non-executive directors, rendering the statutory audit committee inoperative and effectively collapsing the company’s governance structure.
Data from Tianyancha shows that Hongjiu Fruit is now subject to dozens of enforcement cases, with total enforcement amounts exceeding RMB 80 million. The company and its legal representative also face multiple records for default and consumption restrictions.
The story of Hongjiu Fruit is a poignant tale of a dramatic rise and fall. Founder Deng Hongjiu started from humble beginnings, selling fruit from a shoulder pole, and gradually built an integrated group focusing on high-end imported and domestic fruits. Leveraging an “end-to-end” supply chain model, the company once rose rapidly. According to third-party reports, based on 2022 sales revenue, it was China’s largest fruit distributor, as well as the largest durian distributor and imported dragon fruit distributor. Its successful listing in September 2022 marked a peak moment.
Yet, its rapid descent from that peak offers profound lessons for the market. The delisting of Hongjiu Fruit is not merely the failure of a single listed company. It serves as a stark warning for all rapidly expanding enterprises, particularly in industries like fresh fruit and produce, which place extremely high demands on supply chain management and capital turnover.
