SinoSynergy looks to fuel up in HK IPO

SinoSynergy, a hydrogen fuel cell company, is considering a Hong Kong initial public offering as soon as next year, say insiders.

It is working with an adviser for the listing plans, which could raise a few billion, and may file a preliminary prospectus as early as next month, they said, asking not to be identified as the information is not public.

Considerations are at an early stage and details of the offering such as size and timing could still change.

Formally known as Guangdong Sino-Synergy Hydrogen Energy Technology, the company manufactures hydrogen fuel cells and provides system solutions. The firm, founded in 2015, built a hydrogen fuel cell stack production base in 2017.

A year later, about 70 buses equipped with its fuel cell products started operation in Foshan, Guangdong, and three buses were delivered to Malaysia in 2019.

SinoSynergy could be the first of its kind to test Hong Kong investor appetite for the fuel cell technology, which produces electricity and heat by enabling hydrogen and oxygen to react in a chemical process.

While IPO activity has slumped here and globally, the city has been receptive to listings by electric vehicle battery makers and lithium miners such as Tianqi Lithium (9696).

China's Nasdaq-style STAR board has seen a number of listings or applications by hydrogen fuel cell makers recently, including Shanghai Hydrogen Propulsion Technology and Beijing SinoHytec.

China wants to develop a full-scale hydrogen industry covering transportation, energy storage and industrial uses by 2035, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a plan this year.

The SinoSynergy news came as Charles Li Xiaojia, the former head of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388), said the fintech platform he cofounded to link international capital to small businesses in China has completed investments in more than 1,000 firms in less than a year.

Micro Connect, which Li started with Gary Zhang last August, is expected to help invest in more than 10,000 small firms by the end of 2023.