Mainland chain Green Tea secures $680m in margin financing

Mainland restaurant chain Green Tea Group has raised HK$680 million via margin financing on its first day of retail bookbuilding, as food and beverage stocks have been well-received in the new listing market.

The retail portion of its initial public offering has been oversubscribed 5.6 times, according to broker data released on Thursday.

Among brokers, Futu Securities accounted for HK$500 million in margin loans.

Green Tea is asking for a minimum investment of HK$2,905 per board lot of 400 shares.

The company plans to set its IPO price at HK$7.19 and aims to raise HK$1.21 billion.

It expects a debut on May 16, with Citigroup and CMB International Capital as joint sponsors.

Green Tea, which now owns 493 restaurants, has sought to go public in Hong Kong since 2021, with this effort being its fifth attempt to list.

Hong Kong’s IPO market is bustling with food and beverage stocks. Mainland bubble tea brand Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial Company’s (2589) retail portion more than 3,376 times oversubscribed with margin financing orders reaching HK$92.1 billion.

Auntea Jenny’s shares once surged 75 percent above its offer price of HK$113.12 on its trading debut on Thursday.

STAFF REPORTER