Consumer finance lender Home Credit, popular in China, plans to file US$1 billion IPO in Hong Kong
- The Prague-based consumer finance company plans to raise about US$1 billion, according to a person familiar with the offering
- The filing comes two days after beer giant AB InBev scrapped plans for what would have the biggest IPO in Hong Kong this year
Home Credit, a consumer finance lender that counts China as its biggest market, plans to file an initial public offering in Hong Kong later this year, in what could be a potential test of investor appetite in the city’s markets, according to a securities filing.
Home Credit, which is based in Prague, did not disclose the size of the offering in a filing on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) website on Monday.
Two people familiar with the offering said the company was targeting raising US$1 billion (HK$7.85 billion), which would make it one of the biggest IPOs of the year in Hong Kong.
A Home Credit spokesperson declined to comment.
In the filing Home Credit said it intends to use the net proceeds to “increase the group’s capital base and expand the scale of the group’s lending activities particularly in [South and Southeast Asia] and China”.
Established in 1997, Home Credit is focused on consumer lending in nine emerging markets in Europe and Asia, including China, India, the Philippines and Russia.
The company offers point-of-sales loans in shops, often for consumer goods such as televisions. It also offers cash loans and revolving loan products, such as credit cards.
