In the letter to shareholders included in Legend Holdings’ 2025 annual report, published on 31 March, Chairman Ning Min devotes around 1,500 words to the conglomerate’s strategy. In it, he discusses Lenovo, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, China’s five-year plan and technological sovereignty. Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, the group’s second-largest contributor to net profit, is not mentioned.

This silence is not insignificant. The annual results published on 30 April by the two entities allow us to piece together the group’s actual financial picture. In 2025, Legend Holdings generated a net profit attributable to its shareholders of €127 million (1,061 million yuan). This result rests on just two pillars. Lenovo, the PC manufacturer in which it holds a 32.95% stake, contributed €393 million (3,271 million yuan), or 308% of the total consolidated profit – it is Lenovo that drives the group forward. Bil, in which it holds an 89.98% stake, contributes €178 million (1,483 million yuan), or 140% of the total. It is the only profitable asset outside the technology sector. The rest of the portfolio – the agri-food business Joyvio, the industrial incubation segment comprising Legend Capital and Legend Star, and unallocated expenses – posted a cumulative loss of €451 million (3,760 million yuan). Without these two assets, Legend Holdings would be heavily in the red.

A strategy refocused on technology

The strategic vision that Ning Min sets out in his letter is not that of a conglomerate seeking to diversify its exposure. It is that of a player firmly rooted in China’s industrial and technological agenda. “Legend Holdings was founded during China’s reform and opening-up. We have grown alongside the nation with the support of the Party and the State. We have remained true to our original aspiration: to revitalise the country through industry,” he writes. The priorities for the 15th plan (2026–2030) it has set out comprises three key areas: AI and advanced computing, next-generation materials, and technological sovereignty within China’s innovation ecosystem. A Luxembourg-based private and commercial bank does not fall into any of these three categories.

The most revealing part of the letter concerns not the future, but the recent past. Referring to the period of the 14th plan (2021–2025), Ning Min describes his approach to portfolio rotation: ‘In a highly volatile external environment, we have optimised our investment portfolio and strengthened cash flows by realising dividends, reducing shareholdings and carrying out divestments. In particular, we have fully or partially divested our shareholdings in Car Inc., Pic and Suzhou Trust. In total, we have recovered more than 45 billion yuan in dividends and divestments, which has provided solid support for our large-scale investments in technological innovation and the real economy.” Pic here refers to the British pension insurance company – a European financial services asset, divested specifically to finance the tech strategy. Bil is, structurally, in the same category.

For the next cycle, Ning Min has set out the intention to “continue optimising the asset portfolio to build an industrial structure in line with the needs of our time”. This sentence appears in the paragraph on the priorities of the 15th plan follows immediately after the outline of the three technological priorities and precedes a statement on the intention to ‘establish replicable business models for the commercialisation of world-leading technologies’. Nothing in this framework identifies banking in Luxembourg as a priority area for development.

A sound bank at the centre of speculation

For its part, Bil published its results on 30 April, showing a marked improvement in key indicators. Net profit of €210m represents a 24% increase on the €170 million recorded in the previous financial year. On the operational front, the bank completed a series of moves in 2025 that point to a more streamlined profile: the closure of Belair House, the sale of Bil Manage Invest to the Waystone Group, and the winding down of its wealth management office in Hong Kong, whilst opening a branch in Paris in June to strengthen its presence in European private banking. Assets under management crossed the symbolic threshold of €50bn, reaching €50.1bn at the end of December, up 7% year-on-year. The CET1 capital ratio stood at 14.46% after allocation of profit, a level that significantly exceeds minimum regulatory requirements and means that a buyer would inherit a bank with surplus capital.

Jeffrey Dentzer, the chief executive appointed in May 2024, puts on a calm front. “We are building a more agile and customer-focused bank, capable of delivering sustainable performance in a complex environment,” he said when presenting the annual results. Marcel Leyers, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and delivered a joint address: “We are firmly on track to create long-term sustainable value for all our stakeholders.” Shareholders, whatever their future status, are certainly included among these “stakeholders”. As in Ning Min’s letter, neither of the two executives makes any reference to the shareholder base or to any potential future changes.

These results come against a backdrop of persistent rumours. Over a year ago, in March 2025, Reuters reported that Legend Holdings was considering selling its stake in Bil and that a leading investment bank had been appointed to lead the process. The group has since neither confirmed nor denied these reports. The annual report published on 31 March and Bil’s results on 30 April make no mention of this – which is consistent with the communication discipline imposed by a confidential sale process. Some players are discussing in private what they like and dislike about the idea of taking over all or part of Bil, a sign that certain conversations are indeed taking place.

The situation remains complex. Bil is Legend Holdings’ only asset generating profit outside the technology sector. Selling it would make the group even more dependent on Lenovo, in an environment where the PC industry remains subject to cyclical fluctuations and price pressures. But the proceeds from a sale – valued at between €2.5bn and €3bn based on standard sector multiples – would enable Legend Holdings to fund several years of its investment strategy in AI and advanced materials. This is precisely the logic that Ning Min applied with the sale of PIC, and which he himself describes as a success in his letter to shareholders.

The next public event is Legend Holdings’ annual general meeting, scheduled for 26 June in Hong Kong. This will be the first formal opportunity for shareholders to question the chairman about the future composition of the portfolio. In the meantime, Lenovo and the Bil continue to keep the group afloat – even though the published roadmap explicitly makes room for only one of the two.