Melody Chen
Chinese beauty brand Mao Geping initial public offering has raked in an astonishing HK$147.7 billion, making it 702 times oversubscribed, the most among all new listings this year in the city.
The amount surpassed the previous record of HK$132.39 billion set by China Resources Beverage (2460) when it listed in October.
Although Mao's 702 times oversubscription falls short of APT Electronics (2551) record of 5,600 times and Carote's (2549) 1,300 times, it still ranks third among main board listings.
Among brokerages, Futu Securities International lent the most in margin loans, amounting to HK$80.7 billion, exceeding its previous record of HK$30 billion set for Ant Group's initial public offering in 2020.
Runner-up Phillip Securities lent HK$35 billion, while Prudential Securities and Bright Smart Securities lent HK$16 billion and HK$9 billion respectively.
Mao Geping is set to debut next Tuesday, with China International Capital Corporation (3908) as its sponsor.
The brand kicked off its retail book-building on Monday and is expected to raise up to HK$2.1 billion.
The firm is offering shares at a price range of HK$26.3 to HK$29.8 apiece with a minimum investment of HK$3,010 per board lot of 100 shares.
Mao Geping plans to issue 70.59 million H shares, with 10 percent allocated for the retail offering. Its international placement has reportedly been oversubscribed several times.
About 25 percent of proceeds are expected to be used for expanding its sales network, 20 percent for brand-building and 15 percent for overseas expansion and acquisitions.
Mao Geping's six cornerstone investors - CPE Investment, Loyal Valley Capital, ACCF Capital, IvyRock Asset Management (HK), Brilliant Partners Fund and China Core Fund and Greater Bay Area Homeland Investments - committed US$100 million (HK$780 million) to the IPO.
The company is the only domestic market player among the top 10 premium beauty groups in China, ranking seventh in retail sales in 2023 with a market share of 1.8 percent.
Meanwhile, Chinese restaurant chain Xiaocaiyuan has passed its listing hearing for an IPO in the city. As of November, it has 663 outlets in 146 cities and counties in China. For the first eight months, it has recorded a 15.43 percent growth of revenue to 3.54 billion yuan (HK$3.79 billion) and 1.47 percent rise in net profit of 400 million yuan.
