Using equity to leverage business resources, related-party transaction income once accounted for nearly 70%, Bo Lei Technology, an unmanned mining card company, is rushing to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

How does Berai Technology’s equity strategy ensure business sustainability?

Reporter: Wang Lin Editor: Zhang Yiming

Following the successful listing of Xidi Zhijia on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, another autonomous driving mining truck manufacturer, Shanghai Berai Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Berai Technology), is preparing for an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The reporter observed that Berai Technology employs a “methodology” of leveraging equity to mobilize business resources. On one hand, the state-owned enterprise China Power Investment Corporation (hereinafter referred to as China Power Investment) holds shares in Berai Technology at a low cost, and by “bundling” with China Power Investment, multiple companies under China Power Investment have served as major customers and suppliers during the reporting period (from 2023 to the first three quarters of 2025).

On the other hand, the largest single shareholder group of Berai Technology transferred shares of Berai Technology to companies under Zhongguancun Science and Technology Leasing at a low price, thereby locking in terminal market demand through the establishment of a joint venture platform with Zhongguancun Science and Technology Leasing. In 2023 and 2024, related-party transactions accounted for nearly 70% and nearly 40% of Berai Technology’s revenue, respectively.

Despite these arrangements, Berai Technology still did not achieve profitability during the reporting period. Its heavy reliance on its largest customer and largest supplier, along with significant fluctuations among its top five customers, cast a shadow over the company’s long-term performance sustainability.

Dependence on the largest customer and supplier, and significant changes among the top five customers

According to the prospectus, Berai Technology is a provider of electric autonomous mining trucks and autonomous mining truck solutions. Specifically, centered on autonomous mining transportation, Berai Technology has developed three core synergistic business segments: Intelligent Vehicles, Intelligent Mining, and Intelligent Transportation. The Intelligent Vehicle segment involves sales of electric autonomous mining trucks in closed environments, which remains the company’s largest revenue source during the reporting period, consistently accounting for over 80% of total revenue.

In 2024, based on shipment volume and revenue, Berai Technology claims to be the world’s largest provider of electric autonomous mining trucks; in terms of shipment volume, it claims to be the second-largest provider of autonomous mining truck solutions in China. However, despite increasing revenues, Berai Technology has yet to turn a profit. In 2023, 2024, and the first three quarters of 2025, its operating revenues were approximately 70 million yuan, 171 million yuan, and 315 million yuan, with net losses of about 32.5 million yuan, 61 million yuan, and 58.6 million yuan, respectively.

Meanwhile, Berai Technology faces risks related to customer concentration. In 2023, 2024, and the first three quarters of 2025, the total revenue from its top five customers accounted for 91.5%, 96.1%, and 97.7% of total revenue, respectively, with revenue from its largest customer constituting 70.4%, 37.9%, and 65.0%. Berai Technology states that such revenue concentration is within industry norms.

The reporter noted that in the first half of 2023, 2024, and 2025, as comparable companies in the same industry, Xidi Zhijia’s total revenue from its top five customers accounted for 64.1%, 80.0%, and 94.1%, respectively, with revenue from its largest customer making up 31.2%, 37.4%, and 46.7%. Notably, Xidi Zhijia’s dependence on its largest customer is significantly lower than that of Berai Technology.

It is also noteworthy that in 2023 and 2024, Customer-Supplier Group A became Berai Technology’s largest and second-largest customers, with sales of approximately 48.99 million yuan and 63.23 million yuan, respectively. However, by the first three quarters of 2025, Customer-Supplier Group A had dropped out of Berai Technology’s top five customers. Moreover, each year during the reporting period, the largest customer was a client that only became a customer that year; for example, the largest customer F in the first three quarters of 2025 was only established in 2025. Berai Technology also granted the 2024 largest customer D a “monthly installment payment due within five years” condition, and the third-largest customer G in the first three quarters of 2025 a “36-month monthly installment” plan. These arrangements pose challenges to the sustainability of Berai Technology’s operational performance.

Similarly, Berai Technology’s top five suppliers exhibit comparable patterns. For example, in 2023, 2024, and the first three quarters of 2025, the combined procurement from its top five suppliers accounted for 74.4%, 80.6%, and 84.3% of total procurement, respectively, with the largest supplier’s procurement representing 36.0%, 46.5%, and 64.7%. The first-largest supplier A and the fourth-largest supplier B in 2023, the third-largest supplier D and the fourth-largest supplier E in 2024, and the third-largest supplier G in the first three quarters of 2025 all became suppliers for the first time during those years.

Furthermore, Berai Technology’s revenue for the first three quarters and the entire year of 2024 was approximately 34.3 million yuan and 171 million yuan, indicating that nearly 80% of its revenue was recognized in the fourth quarter of 2024. Berai Technology stated that, according to Zhi Shi Consulting, revenue recognition in the autonomous mining truck solutions industry tends to fluctuate seasonally, often concentrated in the second half of the year. However, Xidi Zhijia’s revenues for the first half and full year of 2024 were 258 million yuan and 410 million yuan, respectively, meaning that only about 37.07% of its annual revenue was recognized in the second half of 2024.

State Power Investment holds shares in Berai Technology at a low cost while also acting as a major customer and supplier

In fact, from the perspective of business sustainability, Berai Technology’s dependence on its highly volatile top five customers and suppliers during the reporting period is significant, and its operational performance is also somewhat “bundled” with China Power Investment.

In 2023, 2024, and the first three quarters of 2025, Customer-Supplier Group B has consistently been among Berai Technology’s top five customers, with sales of approximately 3.4 million yuan, 10.6 million yuan, and 12.5 million yuan for intelligent transportation solutions, representing 4.8%, 6.2%, and 4.0% of the company’s revenue in those periods. Group B has also been one of Berai Technology’s top five suppliers, with procurement of batteries, battery leasing, charging, and replacement services totaling approximately 10.4 million yuan, 50.9 million yuan, and 6.8 million yuan, accounting for 8.9%, 16.8%, and 2.1% of total procurement during those periods.

The prospectus shows that Customer-Supplier Group B includes Customer-Supplier B and its subsidiaries, Customer-Supplier B1 and Customer-Supplier B2. Customer-Supplier B was established in 2020 in Shanghai, with a registered capital of about 442 million yuan. China Power Investment holds interests in Berai Technology’s prior investors Ronghe Zhijia and Ronghe Haichuan, and also owns less than 30% equity in Customer-Supplier B.

In 2021, Ronghe Zhijia, Ronghe Haichuan, and Lvzhu Investment subscribed to a total of 38 million yuan in newly issued shares of Berai Technology, with Ronghe Zhijia and Ronghe Haichuan subsequently holding 5.30% and 0.58% of Berai Technology’s shares, respectively. This means China Power Investment is both an indirect shareholder of Berai Technology and an (indirect) shareholder of its major customer, Customer-Supplier B. Notably, the subscription prices for the new shares by Ronghe Zhijia and Ronghe Haichuan were 3.60 yuan per share, while the same month, Hanli Fund, which signed a capital increase agreement with them, subscribed at 4.38 yuan per share.

Additionally, China Power Investment holds less than 30% of the equity in Berai Technology’s fifth-largest supplier C in 2023 and 2024, less than 30% of the second-largest supplier F in the first three quarters of 2025, and indirectly holds shares in the third-largest supplier G during the same period.

Moreover, in 2023, 2024, and the first three quarters of 2025, Customer-Supplier Group C has consistently been among Berai Technology’s top five suppliers, with procurement amounts for intelligent vehicle chassis platforms and non-powered bodies of approximately 20.1 million yuan, 141 million yuan, and 206 million yuan, respectively, representing 17.3%, 46.5%, and 64.7% of total procurement during those periods. During the same periods, Berai Technology sold intelligent transportation solutions to Group C, with sales of approximately 2.2 million yuan, 19.6 million yuan, and 27,000 yuan, accounting for 3.2%, 11.5%, and zero of the company’s revenue.

The prospectus indicates that Tongli Co. is a prior investor in Berai Technology and is wholly owned by Customer-Supplier C. On the eve of the IPO in November 2025, Tongli Co. subscribed to a 30 million yuan capital increase, acquiring 1.13% of Berai Technology’s shares.

Locking in market demand through joint ventures, related-party transactions are a major revenue source

Berai Technology also establishes joint ventures with downstream leasing companies and engages in related-party transactions to lock in terminal market demand and boost revenue.

In December 2025, Berai Technology’s chairman Hu Xinyi and Shanghai Yushu Enterprise Management Consulting Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter referred to as Shanghai Yushu) signed a share transfer agreement, transferring 119,700 yuan and 21,100 yuan of registered capital to Tianjin Zhongfa Tiankai Haihe Zhongnuo Venture Capital Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter referred to as Zhongguancun Zhongnuo) for 17 million yuan and 3 million yuan, respectively, thereby granting Zhongguancun Zhongnuo a 1% stake in Berai Technology.

The reporter noted that the share transfer prices were 14.20 yuan per share, while the subsequent capital increases in Berai Technology were priced at 18.88 yuan per share. Why did Hu Xinyi and Shanghai Yushu choose to transfer their shares to Zhongguancun Zhongnuo at a relatively low price? The Daily Economic News sent an interview request to Berai Technology on March 16, but as of publication, no reply has been received.

According to the prospectus, Hu Xinyi is a member of Berai Technology’s largest shareholder group and also serves as the company’s chairman, CEO, and executive director. Tianyancha shows that Hu Xinyi is also the executive partner of Shanghai Yushu and holds 99.66% of its partnership shares.

The prospectus states that Zhongguancun Zhongnuo was established on December 1, 2025, and one of its executive partners, Beijing Zhongnuo Tongchuang Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hong Kong-listed company Zhongguancun Science and Technology Leasing. Tianyancha indicates that Zhongguancun Science and Technology Leasing is also the largest investor in Zhongguancun Zhongnuo, with a 26.77% stake.

It is noteworthy that Berai Technology disclosed in its prospectus that to expand downstream business and reduce risks, the company aims to promote joint operating models with mining service providers, mine owners, and leasing companies. For example, in 2025, Berai Technology established a joint venture platform with Zhongguancun Science and Technology Leasing based on a three-year strategic cooperation agreement. Berai Technology stated that this platform allows it to leverage Zhongguancun’s leasing expertise to optimize its light asset operation model. This strategy not only ensures a stable vehicle procurement volume, deepens understanding of customer operational challenges, but also enables the company to access higher-margin operational segments while avoiding the substantial risks and capital costs of establishing and maintaining a fully owned fleet.

In Berai Technology’s Intelligent Vehicle segment, one business model involves selling intelligent vehicles to leasing companies, which then lease the vehicles to end users under fixed-term arrangements.

In other words, Berai Technology established a joint venture platform with Zhongguancun Science and Technology Leasing to conduct sales, while a member of its largest shareholder group transferred shares to Zhongguancun Zhongnuo at a low price just before its IPO.

The prospectus also shows that during the reporting period, Berai Technology engaged in substantial related-party transactions, selling goods worth 47.711 million yuan and 63.234 million yuan to its affiliates in 2023 and 2024, respectively, accounting for 68.58% and 37.01% of its annual revenue.

Daily Economic News