Summary
– Coco Healthcare, known as China’s first adult diaper listed company, faces internal strife between divorced co-founders Jin Liwei and Bao Jia.
– The former wife, Bao Jia, has issued multiple opposition votes in board meetings, criticizing appointments and关联交易 disclosures.
– Jin Liwei, the former husband, received a regulatory warning for delayed disclosure of关联交易 with Guangxi Hanggang Materials Technology.
– The conflict arises amid significant post-IPO performance decline, with net profits dropping over 80% since 2021.
– The situation highlights governance challenges in family-run enterprises after relationship breakdowns.
A Corporate Struggle Unfolds
The boardroom of Coco Healthcare (301009.SZ) has become the latest battleground for divorced co-founders Jin Liwei and Bao Jia. What began as a personal separation has evolved into a very public corporate governance crisis, complete with regulatory warnings, opposition votes, and declining shareholder confidence. This divorced couple’s corporate battle represents more than just personal differences—it threatens the stability of a company once celebrated as China’s pioneer in adult incontinence products.
The situation came to a head in late August 2025 when the company disclosed receiving a warning letter from the Zhejiang Regulatory Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The regulator found that Coco Healthcare had failed to timely disclose and seek board approval for关联交易 worth approximately 21.12 million yuan with Guangxi Hanggang Materials Technology Co., Ltd. These transactions, representing 1.54% of the company’s recently audited net assets, crossed the threshold requiring board review and public disclosure.
This regulatory action followed days of internal conflict that had been brewing within the company’s leadership. The divorced couple’s corporate battle had moved from private disagreements to public boardroom opposition, creating uncertainty about the company’s direction and governance.
The Boardroom Conflict Escalates
Opposition Votes and Appointment Challenges
On August 21, 2025, Coco Healthcare’s board meeting became the stage for the most visible manifestation of the divorced couple’s corporate battle. Director Bao Jia, the company’s second-largest shareholder and former co-controller, voted against three of the four proposals presented. Most notably, she opposed the appointment of Wang Xiangting as vice president and board secretary, nominated by Chairman and General Manager Jin Liwei.
Bao Jia’s opposition was unequivocal. She stated that Wang Xiangting ‘lacks professional knowledge and experience, has questionable professional ethics, and poses regulatory penalty risks.’ Her criticism extended to suggesting he was ‘more suitable as an chairman’s secretary’ rather than holding executive positions. She pointed out that Wang had been away from securities-related work at listed companies since 2021 and lacked necessary practical experience with上市公司 rules.
The opposition found some support from independent director Jing Naiquan, who abstained from voting on Wang’s appointment, citing needs for ‘more careful work and improved professionalism.’ This divided response highlighted the deepening governance challenges within the company’s leadership.
Regulatory Violations and Oversight Failures
The浙江证监局’s investigation revealed that Coco Healthcare’s关联交易 with Guangxi Hanggang were only reviewed and disclosed on April 24, representing a delay of at least one week beyond regulatory requirements. Under the ‘上市公司信息披露管理办法,’ this delay constituted a violation of information disclosure rules.
The regulatory body decided to issue a warning letter to Coco Healthcare and record the violation in the securities and futures market integrity archive. Both Jin Liwei, then chairman, general manager and board secretary, and Li Chaonan, financial director and vice president, were held responsible for these oversight failures. The regulator mandated supervisory talks with both executives and added their violations to market integrity records.
This wasn’t the first time Bao Jia had raised concerns about关联交易 practices. Back on April 24 during the company’s Fifth Board of Directors’ Ninth Meeting, she had voted against the ‘Proposal on Expected关联交易 with Hanggang Companies in 2025.’ In her opposition rationale, she emphasized that she had previously identified issues with关联交易 exceeding legal thresholds without proper review in 2024, yet management had ‘ intensified violations instead of correcting them.’
From Marital Partners to Corporate Adversaries
Twenty Years of Partnership
Jin Liwei and Bao Jia’s relationship extends far beyond their recent marital dissolution. The two had been partners for approximately two decades, both personally and professionally. Jin Liwei, born in 1970, established Hangzhou Qiaozi Paper Co., Ltd.—Coco Healthcare’s predecessor—with his sister Jin Liqin in August 2001 with 2 million yuan in capital.
Bao Jia joined the company in 2004 as a 23-year-old graduate from Zhejiang University’s Economic and Trade English program. Over the years, she progressed through multiple roles including foreign trade department manager, international sales director, HR and administration director, special assistant to the chairman, and vice president. Both being Zhejiang natives, the ‘Zhejiang business’ couple eventually married and became joint actual controllers of the company, steering it through its initial public offering.
Their professional partnership continued even after marriage, with Bao Jia taking over the general manager position from Jin Liwei in 2022. However, she stepped down from this role in early 2024 and currently serves as a director. The company announced their divorce on February 28, 2024, marking the formal end of both their personal and professional partnership as co-controllers.
Post-Divorce Ownership and Control Arrangements
Prior to the divorce, Bao Jia did not hold direct shares in Coco Healthcare. According to the divorce announcement, Jin Liwei directly held 59.26% of the company’s shares while also controlling 1.08% through Weiai Nuo. Bao Jia indirectly held 0.52% through Weiai Nuo, Weiai Nuo Erhao, and Weiai Nuo Sanhao.
The divorce settlement substantially rearranged these holdings. Jin Liwei’s direct 59.26% stake was divided, with 30.13% going to Jin and 29.13% to Bao. Their indirect holdings through the Weiai Nuo entities were split equally. Post-division, Jin Liwei and Bao Jia held 30.93% and 29.93% of shares respectively, both directly and indirectly—essentially an equal division of ownership.
However, control arrangements told a different story. ‘Considering the上市公司’s operations and future development,’ Bao Jia conceded voting rights, voluntarily and irreversibly abandoning 4% of her voting rights. After this adjustment, Jin Liwei held 34.25% of voting rights while Bao Jia retained 25.13%. This arrangement made Jin Liwei the sole actual controller of Coco Healthcare, with Bao Jia becoming the second-largest shareholder.
Yang Zhaoquan, partner at Weinuo Law Firm, notes that in协议离婚 situations, parties can negotiate the份额 and types of property division. Allocating full shares to the majority holder while providing other assets to the other party often benefits the stability of listed companies’ control and economic management. However, in this case, the divorce did not fully resolve underlying tensions, merely relocating the divorced couple’s corporate battle from the civil affairs bureau to the boardroom.
Performance Decline Fuels Tensions
Post-IPO Financial Struggles
The intensification of the divorced couple’s corporate battle coincides with concerning financial performance. Coco Healthcare primarily engages in designing, researching, developing, producing, and selling disposable hygiene products including adult incontinence items, infant care products, and pet hygiene products. The company has deep expertise in adult incontinence products, offering adult diapers, pull-up pants, and urinary pads, earning its reputation as China’s ‘first adult diaper listed company.’
China’s accelerating aging population has significantly influenced the adult incontinence products market. Combined with rising national economic levels, enhanced hygiene awareness, and changing consumer attitudes toward such products, these factors initially created favorable conditions for Coco Healthcare’s growth. During its IPO period, the market held considerable expectations for the company’s prospects.
However, financial performance since its June 2021 listing has disappointed. Pre-IPO, Coco Healthcare demonstrated consistent revenue growth, reaching 1.635 billion yuan in 2020—though a substantial portion derived from mask business sales. In its listing year, 2021, revenue plummeted 27.44% to 1.186 billion yuan.
The profit picture proved even more concerning. Before going public, Coco Healthcare’s 2017-2020 net profits were 48 million yuan, 62 million yuan, 93 million yuan, and 223 million yuan respectively. Immediately after listing, 2021 net profits crashed 82.88% to 39 million yuan. By 2022, the company began reporting losses, with net losses reaching 56 million yuan.
Explanations and Challenges
Company explanations for this performance decline have centered around several factors. In 2021, management attributed results to the disappearance of mask business revenue that had contributed significantly previously—2020 mask sales reached 175 million yuan with 122 million yuan in gross profit, while 2021 saw only零星 mask sales. Additional factors included declining domestic OEM business, rising exchange rates, raw material costs and sea freight expenses, and substantial investments in owned brands.
By 2022, the company cited impairment of relevant assets and asset groups, along with overall high raw material prices, as primary reasons for losses. Throughout this performance downturn, the company experienced frequent executive changes. Reports indicate that during 2021 and 2022, several directors and senior managers resigned. Particularly notable is the board secretary position, which has seen four changes since 2021, with the first three secretaries each serving less than one year. The latest nominee for board secretary immediately faced opposition from the second-largest shareholder.
While the first half of 2025 financial report showed some improvement—with company revenue at 549 million yuan, up 5.4% year-over-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 28.28 million yuan, increasing 21.8%—profitability remains far below pre-IPO levels. This ongoing challenge forms the backdrop to the current divorced couple’s corporate battle, with both parties likely viewing company leadership through the lens of these financial struggles.
Governance Implications and Future Outlook
Immediate Market Reaction
The public emergence of internal conflicts immediately affected market perception. On August 27, following the disclosure of regulatory warnings and boardroom opposition, Coco Healthcare’s stock price fell 4.79%, closing at 15.09 yuan per share with a total market capitalization of 4.1 billion yuan. This market response demonstrates investor sensitivity to governance issues and internal conflicts within listed companies.
As one investor commented, ‘Before enormous interests, even marital relationships prove unreliable, even at Coco Healthcare.’ This sentiment captures a broader skepticism about whether personal relationships can withstand the pressures of business leadership, particularly when those relationships undergo fundamental changes.
Broader Implications for Family Enterprises
The situation at Coco Healthcare highlights challenges facing many family-controlled enterprises, particularly when relationships between controlling parties change. The divorced couple’s corporate battle serves as a case study in how personal dynamics can significantly impact corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and strategic direction.
Family businesses often struggle with transitioning from personal to professional governance structures. The fact that this divorced couple’s corporate battle has played out through formal board mechanisms rather than private resolution suggests some adherence to corporate governance processes. However, the opposition votes and public disagreements also indicate that these processes may be insufficient to contain deeply personal conflicts.
Looking Forward: Resolution or Escalation?
The ongoing divorced couple’s corporate battle at Coco Healthcare presents significant challenges for all stakeholders—shareholders, employees, and customers alike. The regulatory intervention regarding关联交易 disclosures adds legal compliance issues to what began as personal differences. How the company addresses these governance challenges will likely determine its ability to recover from recent performance declines and capitalize on China’s growing adult incontinence products market.
Investors and market observers will be watching several developing aspects: whether the company can improve its governance structures to prevent similar conflicts, how regulatory authorities continue to monitor compliance issues, and whether the two major shareholders can find a working relationship despite their personal history. The situation remains fluid, with potential for either resolution through negotiated settlement or further escalation through additional opposition and possible legal actions.
For now, the company must navigate the immediate challenges of restoring regulatory confidence, addressing boardroom divisions, and implementing strategies to improve financial performance. The divorced couple’s corporate battle has become more than a personal matter—it’s now a test of corporate governance and leadership under pressure.
For investors monitoring this situation, maintaining attention to regulatory filings, board meeting outcomes, and financial reports remains essential. Those considering investment positions should carefully assess governance risks alongside business fundamentals. Company leadership must prioritize transparent communication with stakeholders and demonstrate commitment to resolving internal conflicts while maintaining operational focus.