[HONG KONG] Seres Group started taking investor orders for a Hong Kong listing that may raise as much as HK$13.2 billion (S$2.2 billion), making the electric-vehicle (EV) maker the latest big Chinese company to go public in the financial hub.
The Chongqing-based company is offering 100 million shares at up to HK$131.50 each, according to a filing on Monday (Oct 27). It has options to expand the deal by as much as 32 per cent to HK$17.4 billion.
Seres, whose Shanghai shares have quadrupled since the beginning of 2023, has a market value of more than US$36 billion. Its maximum listing price in Hong Kong indicates a discount of 25 per cent to its 160.01 yuan closing price in China on Friday. The shares are expected to start trading in Hong Kong on Nov 5.
The deal comes on the heels of another billion-dollar offering, from excavator maker Sany Heavy Industry, which will push Hong Kong’s total proceeds from new listings to above the US$26 billion that Bloomberg Intelligence had forecast for 2025.
Cornerstone investors, which get a fixed allocation in a listing in exchange for holding the stock for at least six months, have agreed to buy US$826 million in Seres shares. Taking up a chunk of the cornerstone tranche is a fund backed by the Chongqing government.
Fridge-parts maker Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls, which also listed shares in Hong Kong this year, agreed to buy shares, and so did investment firms Schroders, Ghisallo Capital Management and Jain Global.
Seres stands out in China’s crowded EV space because it’s the main carmaking partner of national tech champion Huawei Technologies. Founded in 1986, the company initially produced springs and shock absorbers before expanding into motorcycles and later to EVs. The partnership with Huawei has been a boon for Seres, which is expected to see profits surge 72 per cent to a record 10.2 billion yuan this year, according to the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.
China International Capital Corporation and China Galaxy Securities are joint sponsors of the Seres listing. BLOOMBERG
