On the morning of February 6, 2026, at 9:00 AM, the trading hall of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) resounded with the clear, resounding strike of the gong. Muyuan Foods Co., Ltd. (02714.HK, hereinafter referred to as “Muyuan Foods”) officially listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Chairman Qin Yinglin, dressed in a dark suit and wearing a determined smile, stood on the stage alongside his wife Qian Ying, CFO Gao Tong, and other senior executives to strike the gong together. Applause thundered through the hall as cameras captured the moment of this 61-year-old man from Henan – a journey from a poor mountain village in Nanyang’s Neixiang County to the helm of the world’s largest pig farming enterprise. Over more than three decades, Qin Yinglin has written an epic tale of perseverance and real-economy triumph that belongs to Central China’s entrepreneurs.
The stock opened flat at its issue price of HK$39 and climbed steadily, closing the morning session at HK$40.84, up 4.7%, pushing the market capitalization above HK$226 billion. The global offering of approximately 274 million H shares was oversubscribed 5.88 times in the Hong Kong public offering and 8.62 times internationally, with net proceeds of approximately HK$10.47 billion (potentially up to HK$12 billion if the over-allotment option is exercised). This marks not only the largest global IPO in the agriculture and animal husbandry sector in 2026 but also one of the biggest agricultural listings on the HKEX in recent years. Muyuan Foods has become the first “A+H” listed company in China’s pig farming industry, opening a new chapter for Central Plains real-economy enterprises on the international stage.
Seeds Planted in a Poor Mountain Village: From 22 Pigs to the Dream of Scientific Farming
Born in 1965 in a remote mountain village in Mashankou Town, Neixiang County, Nanyang City, Henan Province, Qin Yinglin grew up in an era of material scarcity. His family struggled to make ends meet, and he often helped with farm work. He witnessed villagers lose everything to pig epidemics time and again. Those experiences planted a seed in his heart: pig farming could not depend on luck; it had to be scientific and professional.
As a high school student, Qin showed extraordinary determination. He once persuaded his father to borrow money to raise pigs, only to see nearly the entire herd wiped out by disease. His father swore never to raise pigs again, but Qin replied firmly, “I will make this work.” In 1985, he was admitted to Henan Agricultural University’s animal husbandry and veterinary medicine program, becoming one of the few university students from his village. During his four years of study, he devoured knowledge on breeding techniques and disease prevention, determined to modernize traditional pig farming.
After graduating in 1989, Qin was assigned to a state-owned food company in Nanyang – a coveted “iron rice bowl” job with stable pay. For many, this would have been the pinnacle of success. But Qin could not let go of his dream. In 1992, at age 27, he resigned, returned to Neixiang with his newlywed wife Qian Ying, sold everything of value, borrowed from relatives, and scraped together enough money to buy 22 pigs. Thus was born Neixiang Muyuan Breeding Co., Ltd.
The early days were brutally hard. Qin and Qian lived beside the pig sheds, feeding pigs by day and studying breeding manuals by night. They insisted on a fully integrated “self-breeding, self-raising” model to minimize disease risks from external sources. At a time when most people treated pig farming as a side business, Qin believed it could become modern agriculture – scalable, technological, and professional.
Weathering Cycles with Resilience: From Near Bankruptcy to Global Leader
The road of entrepreneurship is always thorny. In the late 1990s, plummeting pig prices drove many farmers out of business, and Muyuan teetered on the edge. In the 2000s, outbreaks of blue-ear disease and other epidemics strained the company’s finances. The 2018–2019 African swine fever crisis devastated China’s pig industry, bankrupting or forcing contraction on countless enterprises. Yet Qin and Qian expanded against the tide, leveraging years of accumulated biosecurity expertise to fill the market gap.
Qin often says, “Some things are worth doing even if it kills you.” At the toughest moments. His personal property and refused layoffs or pay cuts. Employees recall that during the African swine fever outbreak, Qin personally led research into prevention measures and established rigorous biosecurity protocols, making Muyuan one of the few companies to achieve near-zero infection rates. That ordeal not only carried Muyuan through the crisis but also cemented its global leadership.
More than 30 years later, Muyuan Foods has become the world’s top pig farming enterprise. According to Frost & Sullivan, Muyuan has ranked first globally in pig slaughter volume for four consecutive years since 2021. In 2025, the company sold nearly 78 million commercial pigs and slaughtered over 28 million, with expected net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 14.7–15.7 billion. It operates over 300 subsidiaries across 27 provinces, employs more than 140,000 people, and has built a fully integrated industrial chain from breeding and farming to slaughter and deep processing.
Muyuan’s core competitiveness lies in “cost leadership + technological innovation.” The company pioneered intelligent pig farming, introducing AI monitoring, automated feeding, and environmental control systems that dramatically boost efficiency. Its fully loaded cost per pig remains the industry’s lowest, at around RMB 14/kg in 2025. Qin emphasizes, “We only do two things: raise pigs well and cultivate people well.” The company promotes a “master-apprentice” culture, turning many frontline workers into managers.
On the capital front, Muyuan listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2014 (002714.SZ). The Hong Kong listing completes its “A+H” structure, providing broader international financing channels. On the 2025 Hurun Rich List, Qin Yinglin and Qian Ying ranked 16th in China with combined wealth of RMB 187 billion, remaining Henan’s richest for many years. Yet the couple remains low-key, often wearing work clothes and visiting pig farms firsthand.
Hong Kong Listing: A Milestone for Central Plains Enterprises’ Internationalization
In his listing ceremony speech, Qin said: “The Hong Kong listing opens our internationalization journey. We will leverage the international platform, stay innovative, focus on our core business, and help transform pig farming into a modern, advanced industry – making it a respectable and dignified profession.”
Proceeds will primarily fund R&D, industrial chain expansion, overseas development, and working capital. The company plans to replicate its biosecurity and intelligent farming models in Southeast Asia and strengthen feed supply chains to mitigate grain price volatility. Cornerstone investors including CP Group and Wilmar International lay the groundwork for future cooperation.
For Muyuan, the Hong Kong listing is more than financing – it is strategic upgrading. The international capital market brings stricter regulation and more diverse investors, compelling greater governance transparency. This will propel Muyuan from “China’s Pig King” to “Global Pig King” and drive China’s pig farming industry toward high-quality, sustainable development.
Rural Revitalization and National Commitment: The Heart of a Central Plains Entrepreneur
Qin Yinglin’s success is more than a personal legend; it embodies the real-economy dedication and hometown loyalty of Central Plains entrepreneurs. Deeply rooted in Henan, Muyuan has created hundreds of thousands of jobs, directly employing 140,000 and indirectly supporting over a million in the supply chain. The company actively participates in rural revitalization, building modern agricultural parks in Neixiang and Nanyang to help farmers adopt scientific practices and achieve shared prosperity.
Qin often says, “When the enterprise succeeds, it must give back to society.” Muyuan has donated over RMB 1 billion to education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation. During the 2020 pandemic, it donated massive supplies; during African swine fever, it shared prevention expertise with the industry. These actions have earned widespread respect.
In the vibrant land of Henan, Qin Yinglin’s story inspires generations of entrepreneurs. From Shuanghui to Yutong to Muyuan, a wave of Central Plains companies is serving the nation through industry and innovation, turning traditional sectors into world-class enterprises. They embody the Central Plains spirit: steadfast, pragmatic, resilient, and inclusive.
Epilogue: The Gong Has Sounded, the Journey Continues
The gong that rang on February 6 at HKEX marks a new starting point for Central Plains enterprises going global. Qin Yinglin and Muyuan Foods carry the pride and confidence of Henan entrepreneurs as they sail forward. No matter how pig cycles fluctuate or how complex international markets become, Muyuan will stay true to its original mission – “raising pigs well” – driven by technology and grounded in real industry, continuing to lead global change in pig farming.
Henan entrepreneurs have never lacked the courage to rise in adversity or the strength to have the last laugh. Salute to Qin Yinglin. Salute to every Central Plains entrepreneur quietly ploughing the fields of real industry!
