IPOs bubble up as CATL, Mixue to raise US$5.5b

Agencies and staff reporter

Hong Kong's initial public offering market is bubbling up with Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology yesterday filing for a jumbo listing that could raise up to US$5 billion (HK$39 billion) and tea giant Mixue set to launch a US$500 million IPO shortly.

Reuters had earlier reported that CATL was planning to raise at least US$5 billion from the listing, quoting two sources with knowledge of the matter.

CATL said some of the funds will be used toward the construction of its new battery plant in Hungary, which is being built at a cost of EUR7.3 billion (HK$58.75 billion) and is expected to open this year.

Chinese carmakers and their suppliers are accelerating their overseas expansion amid the competitive home market and the high import tariffs imposed by the European Union.

A listing of the Shenzhen-listed firm, the largest battery maker in the world, would be the largest listing in Hong Kong in four years, according to Dealogic data.

At US$5 billion, it would be the biggest since Kuaishou Technology's (1024) IPO that raised US$6.2 billion in 2021, the data showed.

Also, China's largest bubble tea firm, Mixue Group, will begin bookbuilding for an IPO by the end of this month to raise about US$500 million, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Mixue would be the second Chinese bubble tea giant to launch a share sale in the city this month, with Guming having just raised US$232 million in an IPO that was highly sought after by retail investors.

Mixue, which has 36,000 stores in China, plans to start trading in early March, one of the sources added.

It had planned to raise up to US$1 billion in its Hong Kong IPO. However, the size of the share sale has been scaled back as the company is not in desperate need of cash, two of the sources said.

Meanwhile, Guming, which is also known as GoodMe, rose over 10 percent in local gray markets ahead of its trading debut today.

Its shares once rose 11.9 percent from its offer price of HK$9.94 - the upper end of its indicated price range - to HK$11.12 on Bright Smart Securities's trading platform, giving investors a paper gain of HK$472 per board lot of 400 shares.

Guming's shares closed 10.3 percent and 10.9 percent higher on Futu Securities's and Phillip Securities's platforms, respectively.

Separately, Chinese data center operator GDS (9698) is considering a US IPO of its GDS International business to raise about US$500 million, according to people familiar with the situation.

It may try to list GDSI, which runs its facilities in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, as soon as this year, the people said.