US audit inspectors head for HK

US inspectors may arrive in Hong Kong this week to start checking the audit working papers of US-listed Chinese firms but the push for dual listings is continuing with Tencent Music Entertainment poised to make its debut in Hong Kong.

The Shenzhen-based company, whose shares already trade in New York, is pressing ahead with its Hong Kong listing plans with a goal to start trading as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

TME is working with advisers on preparations for its second listing and its marketing activities could start in the coming days, they said.

Meanwhile, officials form the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in the US may arrive in the city as early as this week under a deal reached with China last month, according to people familiar with the matter. The PCAOB officials then have to decide whether they have gotten sufficient access to sign off on Chinese firms as compliant.

In other news, FWD Group, an Asian insurer backed by billionaire Richard Li Tzar-kai has refiled an application for a Hong Kong initial public offering as it now weighs a listing next year amid market volatility.