Since the implementation of the registration system for the main board, the first H-back A project has been launched. How does LYGEND RESOURCE (02245) set the benchmark for "Belt and Road" enterprises to return to A?

Recently, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange announced that the LYGEND RESOURCE Technology Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as "LYGEND RESOURCE") is scheduled to attend the 40th review meeting of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Listing Review Committee on July 7, 2026. As a mature enterprise already listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, LYGEND RESOURCE is expected to become the first overall "Return to A-share" project on the main board since the implementation of the comprehensive registration system. This return not only establishes a new model for multinational resource-based enterprises to leverage the domestic capital market to support overseas strategic layouts but also has the potential to become a benchmark case for the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's "Return to A-share" in recent years. In the view, LYGEND RESOURCE's return to the A-share market is a positive response to the country's "Belt and Road" initiative and the new development pattern of the "dual circulation." This successful practice of "industrial strength + policy resonance" provides a clear path reference for other multinational Chinese enterprises intending to return to the A-share market in the future. Deeply rooted in the "Belt and Road" multinational giant LYGEND RESOURCE has long surpassed the traditional boundaries of trading or manufacturing enterprises and has grown into a global nickel industry chain service provider. Starting with nickel product trading, after more than ten years of deep cultivation, the company has completed a vertical integration layout from resource procurement, smelting processing to end sales, with its industrial network deeply covering countries along the "Belt and Road," such as China and Indonesia. According to the Zhishi consulting report, in the field of nickel product trading, LYGEND RESOURCE's trading volume ranked first globally in 2024, equivalent to 10.4% of the global nickel product market demand for that year. At the same time, the company is also the largest nickel ore supplier in China, with a market share of approximately 35.8% that year. In the production field, the company is equally strong. Its HPAL (High-Pressure Acid Leaching) project located on Obi Island, Indonesia, is one of the most advanced and lowest cash cost HPAL projects globally. By the end of 2024, based on the annual designed production capacity of the controlling projects, the company ranked second in the stable operation of HPAL technology wet smelting projects globally, with a market share of 19.7%. In terms of specific production capacity layout, the company's project on Obi Island has completed the construction of a wet smelting project producing 120,000 metric tons of nickel-cobalt compound per year and a pyrometallurgical project producing 185,000 metric tons of nickel-iron per year. The continuous high growth in performance is the best proof of LYGEND RESOURCE's strong capabilities. According to the prospectus data, the company's operating income was 21.286 billion yuan, 29.846 billion yuan, and 40.255 billion yuan in 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively, showing strong growth momentum. During the same period, the net profit attributable to the owners of the parent company also increased from 1.05 billion yuan to 2.862 billion yuan, significantly improving profitability. Behind this impressive performance is the strong demand in the downstream markets of new energy vehicles and stainless steel, as well as the steady release of the company's own production capacity. Entering 2026, the company's growth momentum is further strengthened. According to the recently published prospectus, the company's operating income in 2026 is expected to reach 56.413 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of approximately 40.14%; the net profit attributable to the owners of the parent company is expected to be around 3.616 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of approximately 26.35%. The KPS pyrometallurgical project has been fully put into operation, coupled with the continuous increase in nickel product prices due to the tightening supply of nickel ore in Indonesia, creating a "rise in quantity and price" pattern that provides strong support for revenue growth. Regulatory and local government's dual "strong endorsement" In view, LYGEND RESOURCE's industry layout accurately matches the policy resonance points of national strategic resource security and the high-quality construction of the "Belt and Road," gaining systematic and comprehensive support from central ministries and local governments. From the perspective of regulatory policies, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has continuously released supportive signals in recent years, on the one hand, clearly encouraging leading mainland industry enterprises to list in Hong Kong, and on the other hand, actively guiding high-quality red-chip and H-share companies to return to A-shares, broadening the policy space for cross-market capital operation of enterprises. As the "chain master" enterprise of the nickel industry chain, LYGEND RESOURCE has a mature business model, stable operational performance, and a large-scale operation, fully meeting the requirements of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's main board for large-cap blue-chip companies, and its return application has received clear institutional guarantees at the policy level. From the perspective of industrial policies, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other seven departments have clearly stated in the "Steady Growth Work Plan for the Non-Ferrous Metals Industry" that they will "cultivate 'chain master' enterprises in the important non-ferrous metal industry chains" and support smelting enterprises in signing long-term procurement agreements with foreign mining enterprises to increase the import of nickel concentrates and other raw materials. LYGEND RESOURCE's strategic layout on Obi Island in Indonesia has successfully connected the safe supply chain of "overseas resources - domestic application," and its projects have not only been included in the list of achievements in Zhejiang Province's "Belt and Road" construction but also in the signing achievements of the third "Belt and Road" Entrepreneur Conference. Looking more broadly, against the backdrop of the country's high-level emphasis on strategic mineral resource security, LYGEND RESOURCE's return to A-shares carries multiple strategic significances beyond individual enterprise financing. China is the world's largest consumer of nickel, but domestic reserves are limited, and the long-term external dependence remains high. In this listing, LYGEND RESOURCE plans to invest all raised funds in the wet slag resource utilization demonstration project and MHP refining production project on Obi Island in Indonesia. Essentially, this further extends the industrial chain and enhances the efficiency of comprehensive resource utilization on the existing overseas production capacity basis, thereby strengthening the company's resource supply guarantee capabilities for downstream industries domestically. From this perspective, LYGEND RESOURCE's return to A-shares is not only a cross-market operation at the capital level but also resonates with the country's "dual circulation" strategy and high-quality construction of the "Belt and Road." The local government's support for LYGEND RESOURCE is also continuous and strong. As a key enterprise in Ningbo's Yinzhou District, LYGEND RESOURCE has long been included in the local "chain master" enterprise cultivation system, and its return to A-shares is a key project for the local government to promote local leading enterprises to enhance their competitiveness through the use of dual capital platforms. In June 2026, a delegation led by Wang Cheng, Deputy Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee, visited the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, explicitly expressing the hope that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would support Ningbo enterprises in utilizing international capital, help enterprises with conditions, capabilities, and prospects to enhance their core competitiveness, and promote more high-quality enterprises to enter the capital market. In this capital market docking driven by high-level government officials personally, LYGEND RESOURCE is positioned as a typical representative of the "H+A" strategic layout - that is, achieving international development through the established Hong Kong stock platform while solidifying its domestic capital foundation through the listing process on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange main board. The continuous endorsement from the government level and the tilt of policy resources have effectively provided solid administrative support for LYGEND RESOURCE. From a more macro perspective, LYGEND RESOURCE's return to A-shares reflects the deep-seated changes in the capital market's understanding of the value of "going global" enterprises. Chinese enterprises with core assets in countries along the "Belt and Road," and with global resource allocation capabilities, are becoming strategic and scarce investment targets in the A-share market. In conclusion, LYGEND RESOURCE's return to listing on the A-share market is a perfect resonance of "industrial strength + policy tailwinds." As the first H-share return to A-share case among resource-based "Belt and Road" enterprises, it not only complements the company's financing puzzle in the A-share market but also, with the dual endorsement of regulatory authorities and local governments, opens a new chapter in global development, thereby setting a landmark worth in-depth study for future companies.