Hong Kong is heading into the busiest week for initial public offerings (IPOs) in four months with six companies launching listings worth US$1.7 billion combined yesterday.
That makes this the busiest week since the one beginning Feb. 24, when 12 companies announced IPOs, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
The pickup in activity comes after the second listings in the home of Chinese tech giants JD.com Inc (京東) and NetEase Inc (網易) earlier this month raised about US$7 billion and galvanized the IPO market back into action.
E-cigarette device maker Smoore International Holdings Ltd (思摩爾國際控股) started taking orders for an IPO that could raise as much as US$919 million, making it the largest listing in the territory after JD and NetEase.
Smoore is offering 574.4 million shares at HK$9.60 to HK$12.40 apiece in its Hong Kong initial public offering, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Other companies book building this week include Zhenro Services Group Ltd (正榮服務集團), the property management arm of developer Zhenro Properties Group (正榮地產集團), Greentown Management Holdings (綠城管理), the project management unit of developer Greentown China (綠城中國), poultry meat producer Shandong Fengxiang Co (山東鳳祥), Ocumension Therapeutics (歐康維視) and Adtiger Corp Ltd (虎視傳媒).
Hong Kong has had a slow start to the year in terms of IPOs as the market slump induced by COVID-19 earlier this year prompted many issuers to hold off their floats.
However, the successful listings of JD and NetEase opened up the market again, and prospective issuers are no longer limited to mostly biotech companies, which had proved almost immune to the earlier market volatility.
In a sign that the healthcare fervor is not dying down, surgical instruments maker Kangji Medical Holdings Ltd (康基醫療) jumped 94 percent on its debut yesterday, the best opening performance for a healthcare IPO in Hong Kong this year, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
Meanwhile, 21Vianet Group Inc (世紀互聯), a data center operator backed by Blackstone Group Inc, is considering a second listing in Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter said, joining a growing number of US-listed Chinese firms in looking to sell shares in the territory.
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