Citibank: The market mistakenly gave Zijin Mining (02899) a “buy” rating due to concerns about Chen Jinghe leaving office

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Citi released a research report stating that it attended the special shareholders' meeting held by Zijin Mining (02899) in Shanghang County, Fujian Province on December 31, 2025. Founder and Chairman Chen Jinghe has officially retired. Since the announcement of his decision to retire was announced, although he will still serve as the company's senior advisor and honorary chairman, some investors seem concerned and chose to make a profit. Citi believes these concerns are misplaced and gave Zijin a “buy” rating and target price of HK$39.

The bank believes that the key reason is that Chen Jinghe believes that now is the right time to hand over management rights to the management team, because this is a necessary step to transform Zijin Mining, a state-owned enterprise from “founder driven” to “mechanism-driven.” Zijin's main shareholder, the Shanghang County State-owned Assets Administration Commission, requested him to stay in office, but he graciously declined. According to the bank, this is part of the reason why Zijin's management team is so strong. Citi maintains Zijin as one of the preferred stocks in the industry, along with China Aluminum (02600), China Hongqiao (01378), and Ningde Times (03750).