As SF Holding on Wednesday completed its listing — the city’s second-largest this year — Hong Kong’s stock market braced for a busy week ahead, with expectations of seeing a significant revival in the fourth quarter.
“This listing is very meaningful for us, as we are relying on Hong Kong’s market to enhance the expansion of our international business,” said Wang Wei, SF Holding’s chairman and CEO at the company’s listing ceremony in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX).
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Founded in 1993 in the Chinese mainland’s southern province of Guangdong, SF Holding is often described as the nation’s equivalent to FedEx, an American express transportation company. SF Holding’s logistics network covers all mainland cities and more than 200 countries and regions worldwide.
Through its initial public offering (IPO), the mainland’s largest logistics service provider raised HK$5.83 billion ($749 million) — lower than Chinese appliance maker Midea Group’s $4.6 billion debut in September.
SF Holding’s share value closed at HK$34.35 on Wednesday, slightly up from its offering price.
READ MORE: SF Holding to raise up to HK$6.17 billion by Friday
In addition to SF Holding, two more stocks will be listed on Hong Kong’s stock market this week, and Maogeping, a mainland cosmetics brand, is also planning to list on the HKEX.
Louis Wong, director of Phillip Securities Group, said China Securities Regulatory Commission’s encouragement policies are stimulating more leading mainland companies to list in Hong Kong, and HKEX is speeding up the listing approval time for A-share companies. This is likely to change the structure of Hong Kong’s IPO market, as more companies with large market capitalization will raise funds in Hong Kong and attract investors' attention, he added.
“Given the recent recovery in the IPO market, the total amount of funds raised is expected to be better than market expectations,” Wong said.
“Generally speaking, companies will rush to file for IPO before the end of the previous reporting period. If they wait until next year to submit the application, they will need to update the financial data for this year, which will increase the company's costs and prolong the IPO process. Therefore, the number of applying companies at the end of the reporting period will be relatively large,” said Ngan Chiu-chun, strategic analyst of Zhongtai International Securities.
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According to a previous forecast from Deloitte — one of the big-four accounting companies — the Hong Kong bourse has the potential to clinch fourth spot globally in terms of IPO fundraising in 2024
Data from HKEX shows that, as of Nov 21, Hong Kong’s stock exchange has recorded a total of 57 IPOs, with a total IPO amount of HK$71.11 billion, surpassing last year’s 54 IPOs and HK$ 35.73 billion for the same period.
