Punters pour $200b into hot dental IPO

Mom-and-pop investors have poured nearly HK$200 billion through margin loans to bid for Angelalign Technology's new shares, though the invisible dental braces maker is the most expensive new listing in Hong Kong.

The Shanghai-based firm launched its initial public offering yesterday to raise up to HK$2.91 billion. Retail investors have subscribed HK$198 billion shares through margin financing, data from 23 brokers showed, meaning the retail portion was 678 times oversubscribed.

Angelalign Technology is offering 16.83 million shares at a marketed price between HK$147 and HK$173. About 10 percent of shares are available for retail investors. The minimum investment of HK$34,948.66 per board lot is a record high among all new listings in the city.

Ahead of its IPO, local brokers Phillip Securities and Bright Smart Securities & Commodities (1428) said their clients already expressed interest to subscribe HK$40 billion worth of shares.

Edmond Hui Yik-bun, chief executive at Bright Smart, expects Angelalign Technology will attract more investors than JD Logistics' (2618) deal.

Last month, more than 1.36 million retail investors bid for the public sale of JD Logistics.

He suggested investors should pay attention to margin lending rates, as the capital gain after listing may fail to cover interest rate costs.

Angelalign Technology sells four clear aligners in mainland China. It also provides digitally-assisted case assessment and treatment planning services and operates a cloud-based service platform.

It had a market share of about 41 percent in the mainland clear aligner market last year, the company said in the prospectus citing China Insights Industry Consultancy.

Revenue grew 26.4 percent to 816.53 million yuan (HK$990.63 million) last year. Net profit surged 1.23 times to 150.93 million yuan.

Angelalign Technology doesn't introduce cornerstone investors.

Before the IPO, the company paid cash dividends of US$15.2 million (HK$118.56 million) in April, after paying dividends of 104 million yuan paid in 2020.

Angelalign Technology plans to used the net proceeds to fund the construction of manufacturing facilities and a research and development center, an intelligent information technology system and data middle platform, expand its sales team, support marketing and branding.

Goldman Sachs and China International Capital Corporation are joint sponsors of the deal.