Tianbang has terminated its “digital-smart pig farm upgrade.” Of the roughly CNY 1.3 billion planned, less than CNY 150 million (≈11%) was actually invested by Nov 24, 2025, with the raise account nearly empty (only CNY 26.39 left). Ongoing cash strain and pre-restructuring constraints persist, with the pre-restructuring period extended again to May 9, 2026.
TechBank Food (ST TechBank) said on December 1 it will terminate its “Digital-Smart-Farming pig farm upgrade project” investment , citing weak hog prices, tight cash flow, and the constraints of its pre-restructuring status. The decision halts a plan that, on paper, had about CNY 1.30 billion (USD 181.06 million) of funding lined up across several tranches.
From grand plan to a standstill
The upgrade project first appeared in a mid-2022 private placement proposal with a target net raise of CNY 2.72 billion (USD 379.00 million), of which CNY 2.00 billion (USD 278.27 million) was earmarked for the farm upgrade and the remainder for working capital. By the time the issue wrapped up in December 2023, only CNY 1.19 billion (USD 165.71 million) had been raised, forcing TechBank to scale the upgrade budget down to roughly CNY 870 million (USD 121.14 million). Early 2024, the company redirected about CNY 430 million (USD 59.89 million) left over from a 2019 private placement to the same project, lifting the notional total to roughly CNY 1.30 billion (USD 181.06 million).
The business case looked straightforward: finer-grained management to lift pig production efficiency; better barn comfort to improve animal health and lower feed, veterinary, and labor costs; and stronger biosecurity to cut disease risk and economic losses. The ambition was to shape the company into a digital-intelligent benchmark for China’s agri-livestock sector.
Restructuring freezes momentum
In March 2024, TechBank itself petitioned the court for restructuring, stating it could not repay due debts and lacked clear repayment capacity, but retained restructuring value. Unsurprisingly, the upgrade effort slowed sharply. As of November 24, 2025, actual spend from the dedicated raise was still under CNY 150 million (USD 20.89 million), or about 11% progress.
Management pointed to two fronts of pressure. First, hog prices stayed low for nearly two years and industry capacity was being curbed, squeezing cash and leaving barn capacity under-utilised—so some sites in the original plan never kicked off. Second, being in a pre-restructuring phase meant parts of the dedicated raise accounts were frozen. For sites judged essential to upgrade, the company leaned on supplier advances or non-raise accounts to push work through—incurring about CNY 280 million (USD 38.99 million) of spend outside the frozen raise pool.
Balance sheet strain and where the money went
By end-Q3 2025, the asset-liability ratio was still 70.27%. Current liabilities stood at roughly CNY 7.70 billion (USD 1.07 billion), far above current assets of about CNY 2.70 billion (USD 376.74 million). To “concentrate resources on immediate operating challenges” and advance pre-restructuring and restructuring work, TechBank said it would stop the farm upgrade project.
What happens to the leftover raise? Officially, funds remain in the dedicated accounts or are used to temporarily top up working capital. In practice, as of November 24, the dedicated balance was almost zero—CNY 26.39 (about USD 3.68). Back in late January 2024—one day after the 2019 funds were shifted in—TechBank resolved to temporarily deploy CNY 1.16 billion (USD 161.56 million) into working capital, later announcing a one-year extension for returning those funds.
Looking ahead, the company says there are no new investment projects planned before the end of 2025. Any urgent digital-smart retrofits will keep relying on supplier advances or self-raised funds. Once the company enters formal restructuring, it plans to coordinate the subsequent use of remaining project funds.
Pre-restructuring clock extended again
In November, TechBank received a court decision to extend its pre-restructuring period by another six months to May 9, 2026—its third extension since pre-restructuring was approved on August 9, 2024.
Operations: volumes up, revenue down
For January–October 2025, TechBank sold 5.3233 million hogs (including 1.8983 million piglets), booking revenue of CNY 6.692 billion (USD 932.00 million). Year-on-year, volumes rose 6.76%, while sales revenue fell 7.96%. The company, which operates Asia’s largest single-site hog slaughter plant, reported roughly 1.32 million heads slaughtered over the same period.
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