Baiguoyuan Group (02411) provided loans of up to 110 million yuan to Baiguoyuan commercial management

Zhitong Finance App News, Baiguoyuan Group (02411) issued an announcement. On August 28, 2026, the company (as the lender) signed a loan agreement III with Baiguoyuan Commercial Management (for itself and its subsidiary, as the borrower). The company conditionally agreed to provide Baiguoyuan Commercial Management with a maximum principal amount of RMB 110 million. The period from the effective date of loan agreement III until October 31, 2029, is equivalent to the year announced by the People's Bank of China on August 20, 2026 Interest is calculated at 3.0% LPR plus a fixed annual interest rate of 20 basis points of 3.2%.

Along with previous loans, the total principal amount of loans provided or to be provided by the Company to Baiguoyuan Commercial Management under the loan agreement is up to RMB 360 million.

Relying on the Group's more than 20 years of fruit supply chain advantages, store and fresh product operation and management experience, Baiguoyuan Commercial Management joined forces with 7 regional retail brands (Seven Star Alliance) distributed in Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Henan, Jiangsu, Hunan, Jiangxi and Guizhou in the first half of 2026 to explore new business formats and new types of stores such as fruit+snacks, discount supermarkets for all categories of standard products, and community fresh retail stores. Under the seven-star alliance model, regional brands retain localized product selection and operational flexibility, and are positioned to meet the “five meals a day” high-frequency and immediate fresh food procurement needs of community residents. On the one hand, Baiguoyuan's commercial management empowers mature supply chain infrastructure and quality control systems to more terminals to expand business coverage; on the other hand, it adapts to consumers' demand for “price-quality ratio” and “good quality of life at the doorstep”, expands the service scenario from a single fruit specialty store to comprehensive fresh retail in the community, and nurtures the Group's second growth curve. As of June 30, 2026, the total number of brand partner stores under the cooperation with Seven Star Alliance reached 1951, contributing a total revenue of approximately RMB 721.3 million to the Group in the first half of 2026.

Since the previous loan was approved at the 2026 First Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting held by the Company on May 29, 2026, the number of regional retail brands cooperating with Baiguoyuan's commercial management has increased, and the opening of new stores has accelerated compared to previous expectations, and the corresponding expansion of business scale requires a corresponding increase in management personnel. Currently, the domestic community fresh retail and discount supermarket business is in a period of rapid expansion. Industry participants are competing to speed up the layout of outlets to seize high-quality community locations and enhance scale effects and supply chain bargaining power. Facing increasingly intense market competition and industry integration opportunities, Baiguoyuan commercial management needs to further increase capital investment for store network expansion, supply chain infrastructure upgrades, and digital capacity building in new business formats such as the Seven Star Alliance to consolidate its market position and support the sustainable development of new businesses.

Such transactions are conducive to the normal operation and development of Baiguoyuan commercial management, a non-wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. More specifically, the Group anticipates that the new business will become another revenue growth point, further supporting the Group's overall growth, and its channel brand influence will be further strengthened due to the increasing diversification of categories and the expansion of the community retail network to cover the needs of target customers more widely. Furthermore, from a strategic perspective, the Group plans to diversify its franchise business by expanding new product categories using its mature community customer network and rich experience in fruit retail operations; the Group will continue to maintain a “healthy, high-quality and cost-effective” brand positioning for its new business to maintain a high degree of consistency with its existing core fruit franchise business, thereby creating cross-category synergy effects and enhancing its overall competitiveness in the fruit and snack retail market.

Although there is no collateral or guarantee for loans provided or to be provided under the loan agreement, the Company believes that the risk of borrowing is within its control, considering that given the positive prospects of the “snack food” market in China, the new business will further enrich the Group's revenue sources. In the early stages of development, Baiguoyuan Business Management did not have better financing options to support its business operations. Baiguoyuan Commercial Management can seek bank financing to repay loans (if any), Baiguoyuan Business Management's contractual agreement to provide guarantors or collateral when the business conditions deteriorate, and the Company's contract agreement to provide guarantors or collateral when business conditions deteriorate Check and monitor the use of funds from time to time and the contractual right to require early repayment, as well as the company's latest cash position. Therefore, the Company believes that the loan will not adversely affect the Company's operations and assets, nor will it harm the overall interests of the Company and its shareholders.