Legend Holdings: Remaining True to the Original Aspiration, Leading by Technology, and Serving the Country through Industry
“In 2021, global economic growth has slowed down significantly and the global situation is complex and volatile. But under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, China’s economy has stabilized and recovered, and the economic structure has continued to be optimized, further strengthening confidence and clarifying the direction for future development.” said Mr. Ning Min, Chairman and Executive Director of Legend Holdings, “As the Company completed the intergenerational transition in 2019, the new generation of management once again emphasized the importance of upholding the original aspiration of entrepreneurship. As the Company continues to solidify the basic foundation, it forges ahead and integrates the development of the company into the bigger picture of the country’s macro development blueprint. In the past two years, the Company has been on the ground with sound results, and more importantly, through continuous summary, reflections and reforms, it has further clarified the responsibility that the Company should take in the new era and the direction of its future development.”
Ning Min said that Legend Holdings will further emphasize the leadership of scientific and technological innovation, adhere to the building of industrial base. And it will continue to enhance the support for Specialized, Fined, Peculiar and Innovative (SFPI) enterprises, as well as actively fulfill corporate social responsibilities to a higher degree.
Based on the corporate vision of “serving the country through industry “, the long-term goal of cultivating pillar industries, and the practical experience accumulated over the years, Legend Holdings has reorganized its business and has identified two business segments, namely industrial operations and industrial incubations and investments, in order to allocate resources more rationally, realize long-term value growth of the company through effective control and service mode, and promote industrial progress and technological innovation.
During the Reporting Period, the business foundation of industrial operations segment was further strengthened, with revenue of RMB486.004 billion and net profit attributable to equity holders of the Legend Holdings of RMB5.857 billion, both of which reached record highs. The industrial incubations and investments segment achieved RMB1.540 billion in the net profit attributable to equity holders of Legend Holdings, and a number of outstanding or promising enterprises emerged, which are one of the important sources of value growth for the Company.
Mr. Li Peng, Executive Director and CEO of Legend Holdings, stated, “In 2021, a number of policies have been introduced by the Nation to promote economic development, providing a favorable ground for the sustainable development of enterprises. Based on in-depth study of national strategies and industrial policies, Legend Holdings carefully studied the results and deficiencies in its work, further clarified its future direction, actively responded to changes in the external environment such as the pandemic and dynamically adjusted its business strategies and achieved good results. On the one hand, the company continues to strengthen its foothold in the focused key industries, focusing on developing pillar businesses across industries. On the other hand, it proactively promoted the digital transformation and upgrading of its subsidiaries, increased investment in the field of scientific and technological innovation, and established an innovation and development center in Legend Holdings in order to systematically study the domestic and international innovation trends and the advanced technologies in related science and technology fields, seeking new breakthroughs in high-tech fields.” In addition, it continued to help investee companies to enter the capital market and actively strengthening ESG-related initiatives.
Increasing investment in scientific and technological innovation and continuously improving support for innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises
In the context of the era of in-depth implementation of scientific and technological innovation to lead high-quality development, Legend Holdings further strengthened its technology leadership during the Reporting Period, and increased its incubations, investments and financial support in fields of scientific and technological innovation through direct or indirect means, achieving certain results.
Legend Holdings is ranked 10th in the list of “2021 Private Enterprise R&D Investment 500”. Lenovo, a subsidiary of the company, has proposed to double its R&D investment and R&D staff in the next three years, with investment of RMB20 billion per year and an increase in R&D staff to 24,000, which is being actively implemented. In 2021, Levima Advanced Materials filed 41 new patents and increased its R&D investment by more than 60% year-on-year, while planning to invest RMB10 billion to enter the field of new energy materials and biodegradable materials. Fullhan Microelectronics continuously increased its investment in the field of chip research and development, with R&D expenditure increasing by more than 100% compared to the previous year. And it has a complete production line from simulation to digitization, from front-end to back-end.
At the same time, through its funds and invested enterprises, the company continuously invested in innovative enterprises in the fields of cutting-edge technology, biomedicine, advanced manufacturing, TMT and other areas. In this way, it has nurtured a number of Specialized, Fined, Peculiar and Innovative (SFPI) enterprises in the field of scientific and technological innovation, becoming a reliable partner in the growth process of these enterprises. During the Reporting Period, 39 of the invested enterprises were selected to the national list of SFPI enterprises. As leading fund management companies, Legend Capital and Legend Star have invested in more than 100 scientific and technological innovation projects, and Legend Holdings along with its platforms promoted 21 invested companies entering the capital market. In addition, various businesses under Legend Holdings have also supported the growth of nearly 200 Chinese SFPI enterprises through supply chain procurement, financial support and professional services.
Fully strengthening the fundamentals of industrial operations and developing the real economy
Deep industrial cultivation and solid operation are important development concepts that Legend Holdings has been adhering to for a long time. Through strategic management, operation improvement, resource allocation and empowerment services, the company has gradually formed its industrial pillars and driven the sound development of its upstream and downstream industrial chains.
Among them, Lenovo grasped the global trend of accelerated global digitalization and intelligent transformation and upgrading, and its three businesses achieved record results and further improvement in profitability. In 2021, revenue increased by 18% year-on-year and net profit attributable to equity holders of Legend Holdings increased by 92% year-on-year. Benefiting from factors such as strong demand for new energy products, improved operational efficiency, and high-end differentiated product strategies, Levima Advanced Materials achieved record-high revenue again. Meanwhile, it was also selected into the CSI 500 Index and Shenzhen Component Index as a constituent stock successively, with revenue increased by 28% year-on-year and net profit attributable to equity holders of Legend Holdings increased by 70% year-on-year during the Reporting Period. Joyvio Group continued to put focus on its two main business lines, namely high-end fruit and premium animal protein, with revenue up by 5% year-on-year and net profit attributable to equity holders of Legend Holdings of RMB372 million, turning loss into profit. Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL) kept optimizing its business models and actively promoting its China strategy, providing credit support to Chinese companies and Chinese-invested financial institutions “going global”, while actively “bringing in” foreign capital. In 2021, all BIL’s key business indicators recorded year-on-year growth steadily.
Actively fulfilling corporate social responsibility and comprehensively strengthening ESG-related initiatives
By the end of 2021, the whole system of Legend Holdings had nearly 100,000 employees, involving more than 2,000 enterprises in the industrial chain, creating more than 250,000 jobs and contributing more than RMB10 billion in taxes annually.
The Company has long been investing in many key areas such as entrepreneurship support, rural revitalization, promoting righteousness and response to natural disasters, including the Legend Advancing Education Fund, the Capital Special Fund for Heroes, Models and Justice-upholders and the “Legend Star CEO Training Program”, all of which have lasted for more than ten years. The Company has also committed to promoting and uniting its subsidiaries to actively fulfill its corporate social responsibility, by combining its strengths, in combating epidemics, natural disasters, rural education and many other aspects. In the past Beijing Winter Olympics, Legend Holdings’ invested companies actively integrated all its strengths to support the Winter Olympics through their own technology and services. Among which, Lenovo provided 13,900 sets of integrated equipment and IT equipment operation and maintenance services for the entire process with 430 engineers, achieving the high standard of “zero failure”.
In the field of ESG, Lenovo joined the United Nations Global Compact in 2009 and has reduced its carbon emissions by 92% in the past decade, and its low-carbon practices have been selected as a UN Advanced Corporate Practice Case. Meanwhile, Lenovo has set up the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and has been actively exporting products, services and solutions to help various industries achieve carbon neutrality. Levima Advanced Materials supported the national policies of carbon peaking and neutrality in its business, with vigorous efforts to develop new energy and biodegradable materials, effectively achieved the objectives of lower energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions through such initiatives as continuous reduction in unit consumption, device and technology improvement, and process optimization. It is a national green factory and a local eco-friendly benchmark enterprise. BIL is a signature bank of the United Nations Global Compact and the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking (UN PRBs). It has successfully launched four ESG investment funds certified by professional institutions and helped a number of Chinese-invested enterprises issue green bonds. Legend Capital, as the first leading VC/PE institution in China joining United Nations Organization for Responsible Investment, has invested in over 20 “dual-carbon” technology-based enterprises.
Remaining true to the original aspiration, centering on “industrial operation and technological innovation”, and taking a new journey
Looking ahead, Legend Holdings will study the long-term sustainable development of the Company under the new circumstances with higher standards, bring sound mid-term and long-term returns for shareholders, and contribute greater economic and social values to the society.
The company further clarified the key work in 2022. Li Peng said that in 2022, the global situation is still full of uncertainties, while the long-term positive fundamentals of China’s economy will not change. The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that the word “stability” should take the lead and progress should be sought in the midst of stability. And Legend Holdings will fully study and refine the company’s future development model and management system in line with the national strategy and the strategic idea of “industrial operation and technological innovation” so as to form a clear development goal and strategic plan. The Company will continue to strengthen its corporate fundamentals, manage and control relevant risks and promote the steady growth of its industrial operation business. In the industrial incubations and investments segment, scientific and technological innovation remains the focus of our resource allocation, and efforts should be made to seek and identify new opportunities for value creation. The Company will reasonably align the allocation of resources according to the strategic objectives, promote the release of value and accelerate the return of resources. Through closely following the national strategy of high-quality development and the concept of common prosperity, the Company will further deepen the work related to corporate social responsibility and ESG. It will further improve corporate governance, systematically plan appraisal and incentive mechanisms, upgrade team qualifications, and strengthen the training and introduction of professional talents in the field of scientific technological innovation.
Ning Min emphasized, “Legend Holdings has achieved and developed due to the support of all parties. It is always our goal to make the country, people and all parties trust us and keep our promises. We are happy to listen to the voices from all sides, all criticisms and suggestions are important nutrients for us, which will stimulate us to think carefully and turn them into the driving force for the enterprise to keep moving forward. With the guidance and support of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Legend has been accompanying the development of the country for 40 years, and has never forgotten the original aspiration of serving the country through industry and the mission it should take up in the new era. We will always be open-minded, practical and uphold the spirit of entrepreneurship. We will always be closely connected with the fate of the country and the well-being of the people, and walk in the same direction with the development of the times and the expectations of the society. Through making every effort to move forward with courage and perseverance, we will make a more positive contribution to the new era with substantial achievements on the new journey in the future.”
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