ZhongAn surges in Hong Kong debut
HONG KONG: ZhongAn Online Property & Casualty Insurance Co jumped 18% on debut after the biggest ever IPO by a financial technology firm in Asia, boosting Hong Kong’s hopes of luring future Chinese technology start-ups away from New York.
It also bodes well for expected listings from other fintech giants in Hong Kong, including Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial and peer-topeer lending and wealth management platform Lufax.
“I hope this is the beginning of another round of new economy companies choosing Hong Kong,” Charles Li, CEO of market operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd (HKEX), said at the debut ceremony.
“Our market needs to stay competitive, our market needs to stay relevant and we obviously have to stay clear-minded how we go about attracting the right companies into Hong Kong and allowing Hong Kong to be part of the new economy.” Both Ant Financial and Lufax are considering IPOs in the city, sources previously told Reuters, although the timing for the deals is uncertain.
ZhongAn’s US$1.5bil initial public offering (IPO) follows the US$630mil December listing of Chinese photo app maker Meitu Inc, which is up more than 30% as investors chase fast-growing technology firms even before they have made a profit.
“This deal (ZhongAn) and Meitu’s performance clearly show Hong Kong can emerge as a centre for tech deals,” said the head of equity capital markets at a global investment bank who could not be named discussing listings in the city.
The rarity of technology listings in Hong Kong gave ZhongAn’s IPO an extra appeal for investors looking to diversify their holdings, chief executive Jeffrey Chen told Reuters.
The Shanghai-based online insurer hopes to change the scarcity of such offerings in the city and invited about 30 Chinese tech companies to a party to celebrate its debut on yesterday night.
At the event, ZhongAn plans to share its listing experience and connect the startups with Hong Kong exchange officials and investment bankers. Attendees will wear coloured name tags: blue for fintech start-ups, red for investment bankers, etc.
“We’ve invited partners and many companies that are interested to list in Hong Kong to join the party. They became interested after they saw ZhongAn’s example,” Chen said in an interview.