On July 27, China's "memory chip king", ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) (stock code: 688825.SH), officially debuted on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The stock opened at 49.5 yuan per share, surging 471.59% from its initial public offering price of 8.66 yuan, pushing its market capitalization to 3.31 trillion yuan. This valuation overtakes Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), making it the largest company by market cap on the A-share market.

The 3 trillion yuan listing of ChangXin Memory Technologies is not just a celebration for the capital markets; it also paves the way for a wave of employees and investors to achieve financial freedom. Behind this feast of wealth, one figure stands out as the most unfortunate: Yang Huiyan, the former richest woman in China and the chair of COUNTRY GARDEN.

This melancholic tale begins a decade ago. In 2015, China's real estate market took off once again. At that time, property developers based in southern China, such as COUNTRY GARDEN and Evergrande, rode the high-speed train of the Chinese property market by leveraging high-debt, high-turnover business models. Flush with cash, COUNTRY GARDEN began its outward investments, initially playing a small role.

By 2019, COUNTRY GARDEN decided to go it alone, raising 6 billion yuan in self-funded capital to invest in 90 projects. Among the star companies in its portfolio were ChangXin Memory Technologies, LandSpace, UNISOC, BYD Semiconductor, Biren Technology, SJ Semiconductor, Dreame Technology, and KE Holdings (Beike). These investments covered the hottest sectors of the time, including semiconductor chips, commercial aerospace, and robotics. Specifically, COUNTRY GARDEN's venture capital arm spent 350 million yuan to acquire a stake in Biren Technology and 500 million yuan to invest in LandSpace.

Missed opportunity, the cruel era of property crash

Its spending was generous, and its investment vision was sharp. But fortune built on the property market was also destroyed by it. In 2023, COUNTRY GARDEN defaulted. With nearly 1 trillion yuan in debt, the once well-heeled developer was teetering on the brink. Yang Huiyan, who had just taken over the chairmanship from her father, Yang Guoqiang, was determined not to become the next Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin). Stripping herself of her "China's richest woman" title, she was forced to sell off assets to save the company. In December 2024 and April 2025, COUNTRY GARDEN's venture capital arm cashed out its stakes in ChangXin Memory Technologies and LandSpace for 2 billion yuan and 1.3 billion yuan, respectively.

Its stake in Dreame Technology was also liquidated. Although the exact price was not publicly disclosed, the company's valuation has since multiplied several times.

If it had held these shares until today, based on a valuation of just 2 trillion yuan for ChangXin Memory Technologies, the book value of COUNTRY GARDEN's stake would have exceeded 27 billion yuan. If LandSpace had successfully completed its IPO, the book value of that investment would have been nearly 7.5 billion yuan.

A total of 34 billion yuan represents ten times the net profit attributable to the parent company of COUNTRY GARDEN in 2025, approaching the developer's peak profit of 39.6 billion yuan in 2019. If the potential boost to its stock price is factored in, this missed fortune could have injected a powerful shot of adrenaline into COUNTRY GARDEN during its painful transition period.

Unfortunately, there is no "what if." If COUNTRY GARDEN had not sold these shares, the company itself might not exist today. At that critical moment of survival, it was forced to cut its losses.

This is the cruelest scenario of a liquidity crisis: you know the value of the chips in your hand, but you must exchange them for cash. It can only be said that Ms. Yang was severely let down by the cycle. At the moment she needed money the most, the golden egg she had already grasped was sold on the eve of the IPO, creating the most regrettable story of all.