Shanghai (China), Sep 9 (EFECOM).- China’s Midea, the world’s largest manufacturer of household appliances, announced on Monday an early IPO in Hong Kong with which it hopes to raise some 26.969 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.459 billion dollars or 3.121 billion euros).
This operation, which will culminate in the company’s debut on September 17, will be the largest IPO in Hong Kong in more than three years, coming close in figures to that carried out in May 2021 by the logistics arm of the Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, JD Logistics ($3.64 billion).
This will be a boost to a market lacking in debutants, both in frequency and size: so far in 2024, the largest IPO in Hong Kong had been that of the Sichuan tea shop chain Baicha Baidao, valued at around HK$2.58 billion ($331 million or €299 million).
According to local newspaper South China Morning Post, Midea has already agreed to sell some 1.26 billion of its shares to 18 major investors, including subsidiaries of state-owned shipping company Cosco, carmaker BYD, public fund manager China Structural Reform Fund II and the Singapore division of UBS Asset Management.
In total, Midea will offer some 492.1 million shares at a price of between HK$52 and HK$54.8 (6.67 and 7.03 dollars, 6.02 and 6.34 euros).
The company hopes to use the funds raised to finance its research and development (R&D) initiatives, update its intelligent manufacturing and supply chain management systems, and improve its distribution and sales channel network.
Founded in 1968, Midea is the world’s largest home appliance manufacturer by market value and turnover, and also produces other products such as household accessories, heating and ventilation devices and air conditioning units.
The company has been listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2013, where its shares fell by 2.65% on Monday shortly before 11:00 local time (03:00 GMT), as the aforementioned initial public offering price in Hong Kong represents a discount of around 25% at the lower end of its range compared to the last close on that market.
In the first half of the year, Midea increased its net profit by 14% to around 20.8 billion yuan (2.926 billion dollars or 2.64 billion euros), and its turnover increased by 10.3% year-on-year to around 218.1 billion yuan (30.677 billion dollars or 27.681 billion euros).
Of this last figure, international sales – which grew by more than 13% – now account for 42% of the total. EFECOM
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