As of the evening of May 14, following the announcement that Voge Photoelectric's controlling shareholder, actual controller, and shareholders holding over 5% were placed under investigation by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the number of A-share listed companies under investigation this year has risen to 47. This marks a significant increase from the 30 cases during the same period last year.
Beyond the quantitative change, regulatory authorities have intensified oversight of key responsible persons such as directors, supervisors, and senior executives (董监高) at listed companies this year. Supervision coverage of new information disclosure scenarios continues to improve, with regulatory methods increasingly emphasizing "thorough verification + rapid handling." The efficiency of launching and concluding investigations into listed companies has also noticeably accelerated.
Yang Delong, Chief Economist at Qianhai Kaiyuan Fund, stated that the increase in the number of companies under investigation reflects a deeper shift in capital market regulatory philosophy. This not only better protects the legitimate rights and interests of investors but also objectively raises the cost of violations for relevant companies, effectively deterring potential misconduct and continuously purifying and improving the capital market ecosystem.
According to Voge Photoelectric's announcement, the company's controlling shareholder and actual controller, Yi Weihua, and the manager of Hui Rui No.1 Private Investment Fund, a shareholder holding over 5% (Shenzhen Zhongjincheng Asset Management Co., Ltd.), each received investigation notices from the CSRC on May 14. The reason for the investigation is "suspected violation of laws and regulations related to information disclosure."
Although Voge Photoelectric stated that the investigation is unrelated to the company's operations and business activities, investors made their choice: on May 15, Voge Photoelectric's stock opened limit-down.
It is noteworthy that suspected violations of information disclosure laws and regulations have become the primary reason for the majority of listed companies being investigated this year. Wind data shows that as of the evening of May 14, among the 47 listed companies under investigation, 41 are being investigated for suspected information disclosure violations.
Regarding other investigation reasons: ST Cuihua and Zhuoran Co., Ltd. failed to disclose periodic reports within the stipulated timeframe; Ronbay Technology was investigated for suspected misleading statements in its major contract announcement; Tianpu Co., Ltd. for suspected major omissions in its stock trading anomaly announcement; and Shuangliang Energy Saving for suspected misleading statements and other violations in information disclosure.
Notably, the incident at Ronbay Technology stemmed from an announcement regarding a cooperation agreement valued at over 120 billion yuan. Shuangliang Energy Saving's information disclosure violation originated from a WeChat public account article. The article involved the then-hot topic of commercial aerospace, but Shuangliang Energy Saving failed to accurately and completely state important details in the article, such as the relatively small order amount and proportion, that it was a non-exclusive indirect supplier to SpaceX, and that the related business was incidental. This constituted a misleading statement violation as described in Article 197, Paragraph 2 of the Securities Law of the People's Republic of China.
Additionally, Aihui Long was accused of capitalizing on the brain-computer interface trend with inconsistent statements about its partner's technical path; Ingenic Technology was found to have artificially orchestrated a "Q&A" on the SSE E-Interaction website; and Sunflower was suspected of making misleading statements in its major asset restructuring plan.
Shen Meng, Executive Director of Chanson Capital, believes that on one hand, facing industry downturn pressures, some companies resort to unconventional means for market value management; on the other hand, the trend of stricter capital market regulation is evident, aiming to maintain market order across the entire chain.
It is worth noting that among the 47 companies under investigation, the investigating authority for 46 is the CSRC. However, the investigating authority for *ST Lingnan is the Wan'an County Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, with the investigation reason being suspected illegal subcontracting in the design, procurement, and construction (EPC) project of the Wan'an County Riverside Road North Extension and Three Halls Construction Project.
While the number of companies under investigation has increased significantly, the efficiency of regulatory investigations has also improved markedly. Wind data shows that this year, 8 listed companies have been investigated and had their cases concluded rapidly within the same year.
Taking Ronbay Technology as an example, the company announced on January 13 that it had signed a "Lithium Iron Phosphate Cathode Material Procurement Cooperation Agreement" with CATL. The agreement stipulated that from 2026 to 2031, Ronbay Technology would supply CATL with an estimated 3.05 million tons of lithium iron phosphate cathode materials in the domestic market, with a total contract value exceeding 120 billion yuan.
That same evening, the Shanghai Stock Exchange swiftly issued an inquiry letter. On January 18, Ronbay Technology received an "Investigation Notice" from the CSRC. Then, in less than 20 days, on February 6, Ronbay Technology received an "Advance Notice of Administrative Penalty" from the CSRC Ningbo Bureau, proposing a total fine of 9.5 million yuan against the company and related responsible persons.
Notably, Sunflower, Tianfeng Securities, Ingenic Technology, Shuangliang Energy Saving, and ST Haitai were also placed under investigation in February. Among them, Sunflower, Tianfeng Securities, Ingenic Technology, and Shuangliang Energy Saving concluded their investigations in March. ST Haitai's investigation took slightly longer but concluded on April 10.
Additionally, Aihui Long and Lanshi Heavy Equipment were placed under investigation in February and early April, respectively, with their investigations concluding by the end of those months.
"The regulatory authorities have significantly increased efforts in 'deterrence during the process,' especially regarding information that can easily mislead retail investors' decisions," said Cheng Fengchao, Academic Advisory Committee Member of the China Association of Listed Companies and President of the Zhongguancun Guorui Financial and Industrial Development Research Association. He added that for new types of information disclosure violations, regulation also emphasizes "thorough verification + rapid handling," with clearer chains of responsibility that not only target listed companies but also emphasize the direct responsibility of key persons like directors, supervisors, and senior executives.
For instance, in the penalty against Ronbay Technology, its Chairman and General Manager Bai Houshan and Board Secretary Yu Jiyun were both given warnings and fined. Similar penalties appeared in the administrative penalty decision for Ingenic Technology.
Furthermore, it has been noted that among the listed companies investigated this year, executives of Lierda, *ST Lida, *ST Tianye, *ST Quanwei, and others were investigated by regulators alongside their companies.
Among the 47 A-share listed companies placed under investigation this year, 20 are ST companies. Among them, *ST Aowei and *ST Tiancheng have been delisted, and *ST Guandian received a decision to terminate its stock listing and will enter the delisting adjustment period on May 19. As of now, these three ST companies have not yet received an "Administrative Penalty Decision." This means that even if these companies are delisted, they cannot escape regulatory accountability. The "Opinions on Strictly Implementing the Delisting System" issued by the CSRC in 2024 also proposes to persistently pursue accountability for illegal activities of delisted companies and their controlling shareholders, actual controllers, directors, and senior executives.
Guo Xingfang, Director of the Institute of Finance and Securities at Henan University, stated that the policy arrangement and regulatory practice of "no exemption from liability upon delisting" significantly increase the cost for ST companies to maintain their listing status. This helps unblock the market-based clearing channel for A-shares, guides more capital towards the real economy, aids in repairing fundamentals, and in turn forces listed companies to improve development quality through their main businesses.
Simultaneously, regulatory authorities continue to improve the policy system, accelerating the shift from "formal compliance" to "substantive and effective disclosure," while strictly cracking down on practices like riding hype, concept speculation, and misleading statements. They also strengthen the principle of assuming responsibility upon application, meaning investigations can still be launched even if an IPO application is withdrawn if problematic clues exist. Delisting policies have been comprehensively tightened to achieve delisting where warranted, with no exemption from liability upon delisting.
Yang Delong believes that constructing a regulatory ecosystem of "preventive measures before the event + monitoring during the event + strict punishment after the event + delisting and clearing" helps further solidify the responsibilities of actual controllers and gatekeepers, combat financial data fraud and hype-chasing behavior, promote the purification of the capital market ecology, improve the quality of capital market development, and better protect the interests of small and medium investors.
In Guo Xingfang's view, the normalization of strict regulation is an inevitable path for the A-share capital market to mature. Regulatory authorities' adherence to zero-tolerance enforcement, regularized delisting accountability, and severe crackdowns on fraud, violations, and concept speculation not only protect the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium investors but also align with the needs of the comprehensive registration-based IPO reform. This guides the market back to the essence of value investment and escorts the high-quality development of the capital market.
Guo Xingfang stated that as the regulatory mechanism is further refined, investors' sense of security and fulfillment will gradually increase.