Dividend distribution of 800 million, with 1.5 billion still on the books - well-funded Geli Technology makes fourth attempt at IPO

AI JieLi Technology IPO Faces Repeated Failures: Why Are Internal Control Issues So Hard to Resolve?

On March 20, Zhuhai JieLi Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “JieLi Technology”) will attend the 29th review meeting of the Beijing Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee in 2026. This chip design company, which bears the national “Manufacturing Single Champion” title, has about 1.5 billion yuan in cash on its books and an asset-liability ratio of less than 8%.

This is not JieLi Technology’s first attempt to enter the capital market. Since its founding in 2010, the company has applied for an IPO four times in a row, from the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board to the Shenzhen ChiNext, and now to the Beijing Stock Exchange. The proposed fundraising amounts have fluctuated from 586 million yuan, 2.5 billion yuan, 1.008 billion yuan, to the latest draft of 681 million yuan.

Behind its persistent efforts to go public, JieLi Technology’s performance is highly dependent on a single white-label Bluetooth earphone chip, with nearly 70% of wafer procurement controlled by a single supplier, Huahong Group. Despite holding huge cash reserves and frequently paying large dividends (over 800 million yuan in total), the company still insists on raising funds.

Moreover, issues such as employees using personal accounts for company payments, sales personnel “reselling” products, former executives suing for bonuses, and long-standing infringement disputes cast a shadow over its internal controls.

Relentless IPO Pursuit

As an integrated circuit design company focused on system-on-chip (SoC), JieLi Technology’s main products include Bluetooth earphone chips, Bluetooth speaker chips, and smart wearable chips, widely used in consumer electronics. In the so-called “white-label” (non-branded) audio chip market, JieLi Technology holds a significant market share.

Despite its industry foundation, its IPO journey has been extremely rocky.

In March 2017, JieLi Technology first submitted its prospectus to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), aiming to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board with a fundraising target of about 586 million yuan. However, due to a patent dispute with its former partner Zhuhai Jianrong and serious internal control issues uncovered during review, the company voluntarily withdrew its application.

In October 2018, the company reapplied to the Shanghai Main Board. During subsequent checks, the CSRC found that the chaotic financial management issues from the first application still persisted. The company was notified and transferred for investigation, and the second IPO attempt failed.

In September 2021, JieLi Technology shifted to the Shenzhen ChiNext, with a significantly increased proposed raise of 2.5 billion yuan, and attracted prominent shareholders like Xiaomi and Huahong. However, during on-site supervision, irregular cash flows and weak internal controls re-emerged as problems. In the second half of 2022, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued regulatory letters, and the third IPO attempt also failed.

At the end of 2024, JieLi Technology filed again, this time choosing the Beijing Stock Exchange, with an initial proposed raise of 1.008 billion yuan. In the latest draft of its prospectus, this figure was reduced to about 681 million yuan. After four applications over nine years, the frequent changes in fundraising plans have raised questions about its true capital needs.

The core doubt lies in its extremely healthy financial condition. Financial data shows that as of the end of December 2025, JieLi Technology had cash and cash equivalents of 1.467 billion yuan, along with 865 million yuan in large certificates of deposit and term deposits, totaling over 2.3 billion yuan in liquid assets. The company has no short-term or long-term loans, and its latest asset-liability ratio is only 7.77%.

Despite such abundant funds, JieLi Technology has not hesitated to pay substantial dividends to shareholders. According to the prospectus and public disclosures, since seeking to go public, the company has paid out a total of 869 million yuan in cash dividends. During the reporting period for its latest IPO attempt (2022 to the third quarter of 2024), the company paid dividends three times, amounting to approximately 99.62 million yuan, 200 million yuan, and 100 million yuan respectively. Considering that the four founding partners hold over 63% of the shares, most of these dividends have flowed into the controlling shareholders’ pockets.

On one hand, the company has over 1.4 billion yuan in cash and continues to distribute large dividends to major shareholders; on the other hand, it keeps adjusting its fundraising amount and insists on raising money from the secondary market. This financial logic has become a core issue that the Beijing Stock Exchange’s review committee cannot ignore.

Dependence on Major Customers and Key Products

JieLi Technology’s rise is closely tied to the explosive growth of the white-label Bluetooth earphone market.

The prospectus shows that Bluetooth earphone chips are the company’s absolute revenue pillar, accounting for over 40% of total revenue for a long time. However, this core product category is now facing declining volume and prices.

In 2025, JieLi Technology’s revenue was 2.804 billion yuan, down 10.12% year-on-year; net profit was 596 million yuan, a sharp decline of 24.74%. During the first three quarters of 2025, when industry peers like Broadcom and Tailing Micro saw their profits double, JieLi Technology’s performance declined against the trend. Its main Bluetooth earphone chips sold 1.077 billion units in 2025, down 11.71% year-on-year.

Additionally, fierce competition in the white-label market has caused product prices to fall for several consecutive years, with some key models dropping over 10%. Slow product iteration and reliance on “price competition” to maintain market share have directly led to a decrease in gross profit margin from 35.77% in 2024 to 30.32% in the first half of 2025.

On the sales side, JieLi Technology’s sales model has repeatedly drawn regulatory scrutiny. The company classifies many downstream vendors (such as Shenzhen Xinwenduo Electronics, its largest customer), which have no manufacturing capacity and only engage in chip trading and solution design, as “direct sales customers.” This approach, which disguises agents as direct customers, allows the company to recognize revenue upon chip delivery, bypassing regulatory requirements that mandate revenue recognition only after end sales.

In the supply chain, as a fabless design company, JieLi Technology’s production depends almost entirely on one enterprise—Huahong Group. During the reporting period, the top five suppliers accounted for about 90% of procurement. In the first half of 2025, 68.29% of the company’s purchases were from Huahong.

Such nearly 70% dependence on a single supplier poses a high risk in the chip design industry. Any fluctuations in Huahong’s capacity, processing prices, or international trade environment could directly impact JieLi Technology’s production and costs.

Persistent Internal Control, Investigation, and Litigation Issues

Beyond sluggish performance, JieLi Technology’s long-standing internal control problems and disputes are also key factors hindering its IPO.

A recurring issue is the use of personal bank accounts for company payments, which has become a compliance stain that the company cannot wash away. During 2015-2016, large amounts of sales and procurement funds were processed through the personal accounts of the controlling shareholders and employees. During the second IPO attempt in 2018, the CSRC’s onsite inspection found this problem still existed, leading to investigation and a warning letter. During the third attempt in 2022, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange again identified abnormal cash flows and pointed out that internal control processes were virtually non-existent.

In the latest review, the Beijing Stock Exchange emphasized the need for detailed verification of cash flow sources and destinations of key management and sales personnel. However, JieLi Technology responded by requesting exemptions from disclosing specific cash flow details exceeding 1.5 million yuan and the employment status of some personnel in other companies.

While such procedural responses are permissible, they deepen market doubts about whether the company is involved in benefit transfer or revenue inflation through employee accounts.

Furthermore, the exchange directly pointed out that sales personnel engaged in “reselling” profits between customers and downstream clients. This channel arbitrage not only distorts pricing but also exposes significant flaws in the company’s sales management and anti-bribery supervision mechanisms.

Historical lawsuits and disputes also persist. The core controlling team and technical backbone mostly come from Zhuhai Jianrong. Between 2012 and 2018, Jianrong sued JieLi Technology three times for infringement of trade secrets and patents. Although the disputes were settled with an 8 million yuan payment (with a post-listing payment and earn-out clause), concerns about the legality of core technology sources remain.

In March 2024, the former CFO and secretary of the board, Li Hantao, sued JieLi Technology for unpaid dividends. The company explained that since November 2022, it had attempted to contact Li Hantao through various channels without success. During the IPO critical period, the former key executive’s lawsuit over dividends again highlights internal governance issues, bringing JieLi Technology under scrutiny.