Fu'an Co., Ltd. plans to invest nearly 250 million yuan to set up a joint venture company with Shanghai Jitie Network Technology Co., Ltd. to jointly develop the AI computing power leasing service business. In the A-share market, a number of listed companies are also actively exploring related fields, and some companies have achieved certain results.
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Fu'an plans to spend nearly 250 million yuan on cross-border AI computing power leasing
On May 13, Fu'an shares (603315. SH) announced that the company plans to establish a joint venture with Shanghai Jitie Network Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jitie Network) in the form of cash contribution to jointly develop AI computing power leasing service business. The company intends to hold 71.00% of the equity of the joint venture company, Jitie Network intends to hold 29.00% of the equity of the joint venture company, and the joint venture company intends to invest about 350 million yuan in the AI computing power leasing service business, and the company plans to invest about 249 million yuan according to the proportion of capital contribution.
Fu An said that the proposed foreign investment is a prudent decision based on the company's long-term interests, and has a positive effect on the company's overall industrial transformation and business diversification. After the completion of this project, under the opportunity that the demand for computing power is expected to increase significantly, the company will further enhance its profitability and anti-risk ability by leasing advanced AI computing power servers and related supporting storage and network equipment, introducing professional and technical personnel, keeping up with the demand for computing resources in the downstream market, and enhancing the company's computing power leasing service capabilities, so as to further enhance the company's profitability and anti-risk ability, so as to achieve the sustainable development of the company.
In fact, Fu'an Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in large-scale steel castings and environmental treatment business, and there is no synergy between AI computing power leasing services and the company's main business, and the company has no business experience related to computing power leasing.
In this regard, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued a letter of inquiry to Fu'an Co., Ltd., requiring the company to supplement the disclosure of the operation model, profit model, and main customer suppliers of the computing power leasing business to be carried out, explain whether the leasing of computing resources involves quasi-financial business, and explain whether the company has the necessary conditions to carry out computing power leasing business, and whether it has competitive advantages in this business field.
The announcement shows that the personnel engaged in AI computing power-related business will sign an employment agreement, confidentiality agreement and non-compete agreement with the joint venture company, and Jitie Network will not engage in the same or similar business during the operation of the joint venture company.
The railway network is a subsidiary of Century Huatong (002602. SZ), and Century Huatong disclosed in its 2023 annual report that the company's IDC business belongs to the national computing hub node of the Eastern Data and Western Computing Project. Century Huatong won the bid for HUAWEI CLOUD's data center project. At the same time, Tencent Yangtze River Delta Artificial Intelligence Advanced Computing Center and Ecological Industrial Park project in Songjiang, Shanghai, which Century Huatong is deeply involved in, plans to build tens of thousands of cabinets, which is positioned as an important artificial intelligence advanced computing hub in the Yangtze River Delta and will provide the foundation for a new generation of artificial intelligence large model computing power cluster.
In terms of funds, as of the end of the first quarter of 2024, the monetary funds of Fu'an shares are 133 million yuan, which is lower than the scale of this investment. To this end, the exchange requires the company to disclose the specific source of funds, financing arrangements and specific plans for this investment, as well as the specific impact on the company's daily operations after the investment.
Fu An shares in the signing of the investment agreement related to the announcement said that the proposed investment project funding sources are mainly the company's own funds, bank loans and the company's operating activities of the net cash flow, the company currently has sufficient cash reserves and bank credit to support the implementation of the project, but will lead to an increase in investment cash outflow, improve the company's asset-liability ratio. According to the company's first quarter 2024 report, as of the end of the first quarter, the company's asset-liability ratio was 43.82%.
Listed companies are actively "betting" on AI computing power leasing
In the A-share market, in addition to Fu'an shares, there are also many listed companies that vigorously develop their corporate business in the field of AI computing power leasing.
Hongxin Electronics(300657. SZ) pointed out in response to investors' questions on March 26, 2024 that the company will start to deploy AI business in 2023, and its current related businesses include R&D, design, manufacturing and sales of AI servers, and leasing business of AI computing power.
Hongxin Electronics' 2023 annual report shows that the company's Gansu Qingyang AI computing power leasing base has achieved nearly 3000P computing power, and the company's management team is promoting the landing of computing power services. Up to now, in terms of AI computing power leasing, the company has obtained the "Computing Power Service Agreement" of about 300 million yuan from Capital Cloud, and at the same time, the company has entered the business negotiation stage of computing power leasing landing plan with a number of large model potential customers.
Hongxin Electronics said that the computing power manufacturing and leasing business will effectively promote the upgrading of the company's industrial structure, optimize the company's business development and layout, and bring new business growth points for the company's future business development.
Entrepreneurial Dark Horse (300688. SZ) said on March 4, 2024 on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's interactive website that the development of AI large model technology is a great opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises to use new technologies and new tools to reduce costs and increase efficiency, transform and upgrade, and accelerate development. Based on this judgment, the company has made every effort to transform its AI business since 2023, and has laid out the whole industry chain links such as model development and deployment, computing power leasing, AI training, data elements, and AI ecology, and the strategic transformation has achieved initial results. In the future, the company will continue to cooperate with local governments, major technology companies, and leading enterprises to promote the continuous implementation of AI strategies and help small and medium-sized enterprises in all walks of life across the country to accelerate their development with AI technology.
Yakang Co., Ltd. (301085. SZ) disclosed in the investor relations activity record form on January 18, 2024 that in 2024, the company will continue to rely on its own advantages, under the wave of AI computing power development, continue to expand and optimize the industrial chain system, and directly cash in the market dividend of AI computing power growth in equipment integrated sales, operation and maintenance delivery, especially after-sales service, etc., At the same time, the company will also form the income of AI computing power leasing business as soon as possible, in order to bring new performance growth points to the company in 2024.
UBI Electronics (603629. SH) announced on November 28, 2023 that the company intends to invest US$50 million, equivalent to about RMB 360 million, through UBI Holdings (Singapore) Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of UBI Electronics, for leasing computing power servers and supporting equipment and debugging, and forming AI computing power output for rental services after paralleling. The construction site of the project is located in Singapore, and the construction period is expected to be 1 year.
The company said that through the construction of the project, the company will lease a number of advanced AI computing power servers and their supporting equipment and facilities, upgrade the existing management and operation mode, use equipment and advanced operation and maintenance technology to maximize the incremental computing power and lease it to the outside world, meet the rapidly growing demand for computing power in the market, and enhance the company's computing power leasing overseas business, so as to achieve the sustainable development of the company.