Huiyuan Cowins’ Stainless Steel Piped Direct Drinking Water Business Driven by Policies and Market Demand

Becoming a Key Future Growth Engine with Integrated Supply Chain Strengths

(24 February 2026, Hong Kong) Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited (“Huiyuan Cowins Technology”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”; stock code: 1116.HK) is pleased to announce that the Group’s stainless steel piped direct drinking water business in China is entering a phase of rapid development. This is benefitted from the upgrade of national drinking water standards and the implementation of livelihood improvement policies, together with surging demand for healthy drinking water. By leveraging its technologies across the full supply chain, multi-scenario flagship projects, and large-scale market coverage, the Group has successfully built differentiated competitive barriers in the industry. This business has become the core engine of the Group’s future growth and will continue to expand its growth potential in line with industry development.

Dual Drivers of Policy and Demand Propel Industry into High Growth

The piped direct drinking water industry in China is entering a period of dual dividends from policy and market, laying a solid foundation for the Group’s business development. At the national level, the GB5749-2022 “ Standards for Drinking Water Quality” was officially implemented in 2023. The standard significantly raises the threshold for water safety and provides regulatory and standard support for the high-quality development of the industry. At the local level, many cities including Nanjing, Jinan, Shenzhen, and Chongqing have included direct drinking water projects as key livelihood construction initiatives. These cities have issued special technical specifications to promote systematic implementation in various scenarios such as communities, schools, and hospitals.

On the market side, public health awareness has deepened and attention to drinking water safety continues to rise. Piped direct drinking water effectively addresses industry pain points such as secondary contamination and filter replacements for purifiers installed at the point of use. It also offers advantages in cost and environmental impact. The solution is becoming the preferred drinking option in many public settings, and market acceptance and penetration are steadily increasing.

Industry research shows that the penetration rate of piped direct drinking water in China’s total water consumption grew at a rate of 10.7% from 2017 to 2022. The industry scale reached RMB8.87 billion in 2022. With the implementation of citywide direct drinking water models in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and other cities, industry demand is entering an accelerated development phase. Research institutions forecast that the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of the piped direct drinking water industry will reach 13.1% from 2023 to 2028. The market size is expected to climb to RMB18.56 billion by 2028. This strong industry momentum opens up broad market space for the Group’s stainless steel piped direct drinking water business.[1]

Integrated Supply Chain Advantages Build Industry Barriers

The Group has developed core competitive advantages through independent control of its integrated supply chain and its intelligent system integration in the stainless steel piped direct drinking water business. These advantages create key barriers that distinguish the Group from other industry players. The Group possesses independent production capacity that covers all processes of stainless steel pipe manufacturing. This capacity enables self-production of food-grade stainless steel pipes. The approach ensures pipeline material safety from the source, completely eliminates secondary pollution during water transmission, significantly reduces supply chain costs, and enhances product bargaining power. In addition, the Group provides a full set of integrated pipeline direct drinking water solutions. These solutions cover water purification process design, equipment installation, pipeline laying, and water quality monitoring. They are supported by intelligent technologies and system integration to achieve refined operation and management of direct drinking water systems. For the project of piped direct drinking water in Guangdong Radio and Television, the Group’s daily water supply capacity meets the drinking water demand of more than 4,000 people. Multi-stage advanced purification processes filter out heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, and other harmful substances. When combined with fully enclosed food-grade stainless steel circulation pipelines and 24-hour online water quality monitoring equipment, the system achieves real-time monitoring and stable compliance of effluent quality.

Multi-Scenario Flagship Projects Implemented Covering Over 100,000 Households

Relying on its core technological advantages, the Group has built flagship projects across multiple scenarios. These include government and enterprise units, high-end commercial properties, local communities, and educational institutions. The Group has achieved large-scale implementation from first-tier cities to core cities. The business covers key Greater Bay Area cities such as Guangzhou and Jiangmen. This positions the Group as a benchmark enterprise in China’s stainless steel direct drinking water industry. The cumulative service footprint now covers more than 100,000 households and thousands of teachers and students.

With the further popularization of healthy drinking habits, the continuous implementation of national and local direct drinking water policies, and the gradual demonstration effect of the Group’s flagship projects, the market potential of the Group’s stainless steel direct drinking water business will continue to be unlocked. Currently, several flagship projects are under accelerated construction. Business implementation is progressing steadily, and market share is rising gradually.

Mr. Tai Yiu Kuen, Kevin, the Chief Executive Officer of Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited stated, “In the future, the Group will continue to increase R&D investment in intelligent direct drinking water systems and in the upgrading of water purification technologies. We will deepen our full industry chain capabilities in stainless steel pipes and system integration. We will continuously enhance market competitiveness and brand influence. We expect the stainless steel piped direct drinking water business to become the core engine of growth in the coming years. It will bring sustainable and stable investment returns to our shareholders and drive a rapid enhancement in the Group’s overall value.”

– END –

About Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited

Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited (stock code: 1116.HK) has been deeply engaged in the steel pipe and steel sector for over 30 years and is a benchmark brand in China’s stainless steel water pipe industry, with full-chain capabilities in “independent R&D – production manufacturing.” Its main businesses cover stainless steel water pipes and fittings, carbon steel plate shearing, pipeline direct drinking water solutions, and extend to the phase change energy storage technology field.

Since 2023, the Group has accelerated its expansion into the energy storage business, focusing on the R&D and production of phase-change energy storage materials (PCM), providing customized cold storage and heat storage solutions for customers in various industries. The company was listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in 2004. For more details, please visit its official company website: https://www.hctechgp.com.

[1] LeadLeo: 2023 China Piped Drinking Water Industry Overview https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202404181630528207_1.pdf