NetEase Inc (網易) is taking investor orders for a listing in Hong Kong that could raise as much as US$2.8 billion, which would be the world’s second-largest initial public offering this year.
The company plans to sell 171 million new shares in its second listing before exercising the overallotment option, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg.
The offering by the NASDAQ-listed Chinese Internet company is already oversubscribed, people familiar with the matter said.
It has set the maximum offer price at HK$126 per share, meaning it could raise as much as US$2.8 billion.
NetEase’s listing comes as tensions between the US and China are intensifying.
The US Senate on May 20 passed a bipartisan bill that could force major Chinese companies to stop trading their shares on US exchanges.
US President Donald Trump on Friday last week announced other measures, including that US financial regulators would examine Chinese firms listed on US stock markets with an eye to limiting American investment in the companies.
NetEase follows Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), which raised US$13 billion in a homecoming listing last year, while JD.com Inc (京東) last week won approval from Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd for a US$2 billion offering.
NetEase’s Hong Kong share sale represents about 5 percent of its total outstanding shares after the completion of the deal.
The company is taking orders from institutional investors until tomorrow and retail investors until Friday, terms of the deal showed.
It aims to price the offering on Friday before the US market opens and to begin trading on Thursday next week.
NetEase plans to use the proceeds for global strategies and opportunities, to fund innovation and general corporate purposes.
A NetEase representative declined to comment on the subscription of the offering.
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