Chery Automobile Co is seeking to raise as much as HK$9.1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering, kicking off what’s shaping up to be a busy final stretch to the year for big listings in the financial hub.
China’s biggest car exporter is offering 297.4 million shares at HK$27.75 to HK$30.75 each, according to its listing document on Wednesday. Trading is set to begin Sept 25.
Chery joins the barrage of Chinese firms going public in Hong Kong, where listing proceeds have soared to a four-year high. Zijin Gold International Co could soon follow, with the mining giant preparing an IPO in the city that may fetch more than US$3 billion, the biggest such deal in the world since May.
Billion-dollar deals are trudging ahead in Hong Kong after a brief summer lull, building on a surge by Chinese companies that are raising cash to fund expansions abroad and meet capital needs in an intensifying artificial-intelligence competition.
One thing that stood out about Chery’s offering is the absence of Wall Street banks among its arrangers. China International Capital Corp, Huatai Securities Co, GF Securities Co and Citic Securities Co are overall coordinators of the IPO.
Hillhouse Investment and other cornerstone investors, which get allocated shares in exchange for holding on to them for at least six months, agreed to buy about US$587 million in Chery stock.
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Chery, which assembles Jaguars and Land Rovers in China, said it plans to plow the proceeds toward research and development, overseas expansion and factory upgrades.
The deal could be enlarged should a greenshoe option be exercised if demand is high enough, according to the document.
