Increasing Investment in New Energy Business: Midea Plans to Fully Subscribe to Hecon New Energy's Private Placement

Economic Reference News Reporter Liu Chuan

Recently, Hekang New Energy (300048.SZ) announced a private placement plan, proposing to issue 288 million shares to targeted investors, raising no more than 1.652 billion yuan. The funds will be used for high-voltage inverter research and industrialization, photovoltaic grid-connected inverter research and industrialization, and other projects. Notably, Midea Group (000333.SZ) will subscribe in full with cash for this private placement. After the issuance, Midea Group’s stake in Hekang New Energy will increase from 18.50% to 35.08%.

Midea Group Plans to Participate in the Private Placement for the Second Time

Looking at the specific projects funded by Hekang New Energy, 439 million yuan will be invested in high-voltage inverter research and industrialization, 437 million yuan in photovoltaic grid-connected inverter research and industrialization, 292 million yuan in residential energy storage system research and industrialization, and an additional 184 million yuan in distributed photovoltaic benchmark power station construction and R&D, along with 300 million yuan in working capital.

Regarding the main projects, the high-voltage inverter research and industrialization project aims to automate and intelligentize production lines, introduce automated assembly and smart testing systems, and build intelligent manufacturing production lines to continuously strengthen competitiveness in nuclear power, large-scale mining, high-end chemicals, and other high-end markets. The photovoltaic grid-connected inverter and residential energy storage system projects will leverage Midea Group’s overseas brand and channel resources to quickly build scalable production capacity and system solution capabilities, covering all scenarios such as residential, industrial and commercial, large ground power stations, and micro-inverters.

Distributed photovoltaic is a core growth point of Hekang New Energy’s green energy business. According to the announcement, the construction and R&D of distributed photovoltaic benchmark power stations will build about 1,000 farmer rooftop and Midea Group factory rooftop photovoltaic stations in Anhui, Hubei, and other regions, supporting the development of AI smart energy operation systems, and transforming the company from a “photovoltaic power station builder” to a “full-scenario smart energy operator.”

It is worth noting that Hekang New Energy previously announced a private placement plan on June 22, 2023. At that time, Midea Group also fully subscribed with cash, raising 1.473 billion yuan for upgrading electrical equipment capabilities, photovoltaic industry platform projects, information system upgrades, and working capital. In that plan, 490 million yuan was allocated to electrical equipment upgrades, 381 million yuan to photovoltaic platform projects, 48 million yuan to information system upgrades, and 554 million yuan to working capital.

Although the investment fields of the two private placements are similar, the previous one ultimately did not materialize. In response, Hekang New Energy stated on an investor interaction platform that since announcing the stock issuance plan to specific targets, the company has further adjusted its business strategy, focusing on green energy solutions, residential energy storage, photovoltaic inverters, high-voltage inverters, and shutting down non-core businesses. As the company’s operations continue to improve, its operational quality and financial situation have been significantly enhanced. Considering the company’s focus on core businesses, the key investments involved, capital needs, and the significant changes in the capital market environment, the private placement plan expired automatically on February 23, 2025, under the agreed terms. This will not affect the implementation of the company’s strategic operations.

However, industry insiders pointed out to the Economic Reference News reporter that: “In August 2023, regulators optimized refinancing arrangements, stipulating that the proportion of refinancing used for replenishing funds and debt repayment generally should not exceed 30% of the total raised funds. In this private placement, Hekang New Energy used 37.61% of the funds for working capital, which may be one of the important reasons why the previous private placement in 2023 did not succeed.”

Building a Second Growth Curve

On December 18, 2025, Midea Group announced the establishment of a separate “New Energy Business Unit,” reorganizing the original Industrial Technology Business Unit’s new energy product companies and energy technology companies. Wang Jianguo, Midea Group’s Executive President, was appointed as the head of the new energy business unit. This appointment is interpreted as Midea Group’s intention to add a “second growth driver” outside its traditional home appliance business.

In addition to Hekang New Energy, in May 2022, Midea Group announced plans to acquire a 29.96% stake in energy storage listed company Kelun Electronics (002121.SZ) for 837 million yuan. The acquisition was completed smoothly in June 2023, making Midea the controlling shareholder, with plans to develop it into an important platform for energy management business.

In June 2025, at the SNEC exhibition (a major solar industry event jointly organized by industry associations from various countries), Midea Group debuted under the “Midea Energy” brand image and launched the “Storage + Heat Pump + AI” three-dimensional energy strategy, positioning the energy industry as a “new pillar industry” for the group.

Midea Group’s 2024 annual financial report shows total revenue of 409.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.5%. Among them, new energy and industrial technology business revenue reached 33.6 billion yuan, up 20.58%, growing 2.17 times faster than the overall group, making it the fastest-growing segment in ToB business. In terms of revenue proportion, this business accounted for 8.21% of the total in 2024, up 1.41 percentage points from 2023, surpassing 8% for the first time, crossing from a “marginal business” to a “key growth pole.”

Further data from the first half of 2025 confirms the growth potential of the new energy business. In the first half of 2025, Midea Group’s new energy and industrial technology revenue was 21.959 billion yuan, up 28.61% year-on-year, an increase of 8.03 percentage points compared to the full year of 2024, and significantly higher than other ToB segments. Meanwhile, the revenue share of this segment increased to 8.7%, a further rise of 0.49 percentage points from the end of 2024.

According to Hekang New Energy’s 2025 performance forecast, the company expects to achieve net profit attributable to parent of 50 million to 75 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 385.62% to 628.43%. The main driver of this substantial growth is the rapid expansion of photovoltaic EPC business. Kelun Electronics’ 2025 forecast shows revenue of 6 billion to 6.5 billion yuan, an increase of nearly 35% to 47% year-on-year. The company stated that, amid the rapid development of the energy storage industry and continuous market demand expansion, the delivery volume of storage projects during the reporting period increased significantly, driving revenue growth.