Bottom line: Best Inc.’s IPO is likely to price and debut weakly due to its loss-making status and concerns about China’s economy, which could also weigh on an upcoming flurry of fintech offerings in Hong Kong and New York.
Best Inc loads up logistics IPO
After waiting months for this year’s first major New York IPO by a Chinese company, I was surprised to read the distinction looks set to go to a logistics firm backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). In this case the winner in this race to the IPO gate appears to be a company called Best Inc, with plans to raise a relatively sizable $750 million.
I say I’m surprised because all this time I’ve been waiting for one of a number of financial technology companies, often called fintech, to finally break through the IPO gate with the year’s first big offering. Peer-to-peer (P2P) lender China Rapid Finance (NYSE: XRF) actually took the distinction for first notable IPO of the year with its May listing on the New York Stock Exchange. But that offering was quite small at just $60 million. What’s more, the stock hasn’t exactly been a huge performer since then, and is now trading just slightly above its IPO price. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Qudian’s IPO will get a moderately warm reception in New York, drawing interest due to its status as a major private fintech firm but also wariness owing to many uncertainties in the young sector.
Qudian moves closer to IPO
Anything involving movement of money has always been slightly problematic in China. Be it paying for things online, paying to play computer games, or even borrowing small sums to buy something like a smartphone, nothing has ever been easy for Chinese consumers. That’s mostly due to the creaky financial system they inherited when the country began its march into the modern era starting in the 1980s and ’90s.
That lack of services has been a godsend for a new generation of companies that are now making their way to market by supplying some of the many basic financial services that consumers crave. An IPO by one of the largest of those looks set to happen in the next 3 months, with word that microlender Qudian has made its first private filings for a New York listing to raise up to $1 billion. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: This year is likely to see at least a half dozen privately owned financial services companies make public listings in the U.S., Hong Kong and China, with Lakala and Lufax likely to be among the first.
Lakala files for ChiNext IPO
We’re already three months into the new year, and still awaiting the first of what looks set to be a bumper crop of IPOs by a new generation of privately owned financial services firms that are far more dynamic than their state-run peers. Two more of those are in the headlines today, led by China Rapid Finance, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lender that says it’s eyeing a $100 million IPO in New York. At the same time, the popular Lakala electronic payments service has filed to make a listing on the Nasdaq-style ChiNext board in Shenzhen.
That pair are joining a few other notable names that are reportedly aiming to list in the not-too-distant future. That group includes Lufax, which bills itself as China’s largest P2P lender and is aiming to list in Hong Kong. Then there’s Qudian, a microlender that is looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars with a New York listing. And of course, the granddaddy of them all is Ant Financial, which could raise more than $1 billion with a listing in Hong Kong or dual listing in Hong Kong and China. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Microlender Qudian could raise $500 million or more in an IPO in the first half of next year, most likely in New York, and could get a modestly positive reception as one of the first in a new wave of private Chinese financial firms to list overseas.
Qudian hires CFO, investment bank
Growing signals are emerging that an offshore IPO could be coming soon for Qudian, a financial firm that began its life as a microlender named Qufenqi helping college students to buy things like computers and smartphones. That’s my assessment after learning from one of my sources that Qudian has hired a foreign-trained CFO and also an investment bank, typical developments for a company that wants to make an offshore listing within the next year and often even sooner.
From an investor’s perspective, the company would offer an interesting private play into China’s financial sector, albeit a relatively niche part of that sector. Investors can already buy into numerous Chinese banks and other financial institutions like brokerages and asset managers. But most of those are state-owned and make many of their decisions based on government directives, with the result that their decisions often have a heavy political element that doesn’t always make commercial sense. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Lufax’s Hong Kong IPO could launch by the end of this year and will get a strong reception, while Xinhuanet’s Shanghai IPO will get a similarly positive reception due to strong support from state-run investors.
Xinhuanet approved for Shanghai IPO
Just days after the stodgy Postal Savings Bank of China launched an IPO that will be the world’s biggest in 2 years, the much higher-tech P2P lender Lufax has kicked off another Hong Kong listing that’s nearly as large. More specifically, Shanghai-based Lufax has begun hiring investment banks for a listing that could raise up to $5 billion, according to new reports.
Meantime, a flurry of new domestic Chinese IPO plans is also in the headlines, led by word that state-owned online news giant Xinhuanet has been approved for a new listing in Shanghai. China stock watchers might recall that Xinhuanet’s IPO plan first surfaced in the headlines 3 years ago, but was indefinitely shelved due to repeated slowdowns and freezes for new domestic offerings due to market volatility. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 24-26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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P2P Lender Lufax Taps 4 Banks for HK IPO to Raise up to $5 Bln: Sources (English article)
Fake Bank Documents Discovered From China Group Buying AC Milan (Chinese article)
Shanhai Capital to Acquire Analogix Semiconductor for Over $500 Mln (Businesswire)
Xinhuanet, Bank of Shanghai Among 12 Companies Approved for Domestic IPOs (Chinese article)
6 Agencies Requires 100 Pct Real Name Registration for Mobile Users by Year End (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Weakening sentiment towards Postal Bank’s IPO reflects concerns about China’s economic slowdown, while Lufax’s choice of Hong Kong for its IPO should help to attract more international investors.
Lufax IPO bound for HK
What’s likely to be this year’s biggest IPO by Postal Savings Bank of China is limping ahead, with word the ultra-conservative lender is set to sign up $6 billion in commitments for its Hong Kong offering. But western investors are reportedly staying away from the deal, worried over high valuations and China’s sputtering economy.
Meantime, another financial IPO by leading P2P lender Lufax is back in the headlines, with word the listing probably won’t happen until next year and will occur in Hong Kong. That news marks a flip-flop from reports earlier this week, when media cited Lufax’s largest backer saying plans were still on track for an IPO this year, with Shanghai as the preferred listing location.Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Lufax’s reiteration of plans for an IPO by year-end indicate China’s regulator may increase new listing approvals as the market stabilizes, while progress in Yunda’s backdoor listing also may reflect a relaxing attitude by the regulator.
Lufax sticks to plan for IPO by year-end
After an anemic flow of domestic IPOs so far this year, building pressure and a stabilizing stock market may finally be prompting the regulator to step up the pace as we head into fall. That appears to be the thinking at Lufax, China’s leading P2P lender, which says it is still targeting an IPO by the end of this year, after previously indicating China would be its first choice for such a listing. Meantime, an easing of the IPO climate won’t come soon enough for parcel delivery firm Yunda, which has joined many of its peers in moving ahead with a backdoor listing plan in Shenzhen. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on August 20-22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Xiaomi Suits Up for a Debut on Apple’s (Nasdaq: APPL) US Home Turf (English article)
Tencent Boosts JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) Stake to 21.25 Pct Becomes Top Stakeholder (Chinese article)
Lufax Plan for IPO by Year-End Unchanged, Prefers Domestic China Listing (Chinese article)
Yunda Follows Other Parcel Delivery Firms with Plans for 17.7 Bln Yuan Back Door Listing (Chinese article)
China Unicom (HKEx: 762) to Eliminate Roaming Fees From October (Chinese article)
Bottom line: China Logistics’ IPO could rise 5-10 percent in its trading debut, while AirAsia could list in Hong Kong by year end and online lender Qufenqi could follow with an IPO in the first half of 2017.
AirAsia Eyes Second listing in HK
Hong Kong IPOs continue to heat up as we head into the heart of summer, with word of a major new listing from China Logistics Property and reports that budget carrier AirAsia may also be eyeing an offering in the market. Meantime, Qufenqi, the hot online lender that targets students, has just raised a hefty 3 billion yuan ($450 million) in new funding, in a prelude to what could become one of next year’s hottest IPOs. All of this comes against the backdrop of a looming mega offering by China’s Postal Savings Bank, whose $8 billion fund-raising target would make it the world’s biggest IPO since Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) blockbuster $25 billion offering 2 years ago. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: BOC Aviation’s stock will debut with a 5-10 percent gain when trading starts on Wednesday, while Lufax’s delay of its IPO plan looks prudent until China’s P2P lending sector settles down.
BOC Aviation set for strong debut
After running into some early minor turbulence, Asia’s second biggest IPO of the year is set to take off later this week in Hong Kong when aircraft leasing company BOC Aviation begins trading in what should be a relatively buoyant debut. But the ride to market is looking a bit rockier for Lufax, with reports that what could become the first IPO for a P2P lender is being delayed until next year. Lufax had earlier signaled it planned to make its listing this year, most likely in Hong Kong or Shanghai. But its plan is being delayed as Beijing moves to clean up the nation’s unruly P2P lending market. Read Full Post…
