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Chinese restaurant chain Jiumaojiu unveils IPO, sets to be first of 2020 listings in Hong Kong

  • Jiumaojiu restaurant group is seeking to raise HK$2.2 billion to fund expansion plan and repay older debt
  • Guangzhou-based chain is set to be the first of new stock listings in 2020, adding to a bumper year for Hong Kong

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Jiumaojiu International Holdings Ltd., Executive director & CFO Li Zhuoguang (L) and Chairman of the Board, CEO Guan Yihong (R), meet the press during its IPO announcement in Admiralty on December 29, 2019. Photo: May Tse

Chinese restaurant chain operator Jiumaojiu International Holdings is planning to be the first of new stock listings in Hong Kong in 2020 as the group seeks to ride a consumption boom.

The company is seeking to raise HK$2.2 billion (US$282 million) from the sale of 333.4 million shares at HK$5.50 to HK$6.60 per share, subject to final pricing, in its Hong Kong stock exchange listing plan, it said in a media briefing on Sunday.

The announcement is an early boost for the local exchange, which upstaged Nasdaq and the New York rivals as the world’s top venue for initial stock offerings in 2019. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose to a five-month high at the close of trading on December 27.

“We are confident in the investment market in Hong Kong which is an international financial centre,” chairman and chief executive Guan Yihong said. “Having a listing status here will be good for our future development.”

The Guangzhou-based group operates 328 outlets in mainland China under five brands. Two of them, Jiumaojiu and Tai Er, contributed 98 per cent of its turnover. Tai Er, whose pickled fish dish has taken the onshore market by storm, is ranked first among all sauerkraut fish restaurants in China, according to consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan.

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