Chinese EV maker Hozon weighs June filing for US$1 billion Hong Kong IPO, sources say
- Hozon New Energy Automobile is planning a US$1 billion Hong Kong initial public offering which could be launched later this month
- China International Capital, Citic Securities, and Morgan Stanley are among banks that are arranging the share sale
Hozon New Energy Automobile, a company making affordable electric vehicles in China, is considering filing for a US$1 billion Hong Kong initial public offering as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Shanghai-headquartered company has added ABC International Holdings (ABCI) and China Merchants Bank International (CMBI) to the banks it is working with for the listing, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is not public.
China International Capital (CICC), Citic Securities, and Morgan Stanley are among the other banks on the first-time share sale, Bloomberg News reported last year.
Deliberations are ongoing and details such as the timing and bank line-up could still change, the people said. Representatives for Citic Securities, CICC, Hozon and Morgan Stanley declined to comment, while ABCI and CMBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The IPO may come at a time when the Chinese EV market is being roiled by a price war kicked off by Tesla in October, with both domestic and international rivals following suit. Steep discounts have failed to reverse a slide in sales for most manufacturers, and earnings have taken a hit.
Hozon sold 152,073 units of its Neta brand vehicles in 2022, up 118 per cent versus the year before, according to a press release. The company is looking to build a presence in Europe and the Middle East as well as in Asia-Pacific, where it inked a manufacturing agreement in May to make its Neta V model in Thailand.
The EV maker raised over 3 billion yuan (US$423 million) in a series D funding round in 2022, according to its website. Shenzhen Capital Group and Qianhai Fund of Funds were among the participants in that round.
