(Yicai) Oct. 17 — Tencent-backed courier startup J&T Global Express has begun offering equity capital to investors in a downgraded HKD3.53 billion (USD451.2 million) initial public offering that is still expected to close will become the second largest in Hong Kong this year.
J&T [HK: 1519] aims to raise HK$3.53 billion (US$451.2 million) by offering 326.6 million shares through a listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which will last until October 19, the headquarters company said announced in Shanghai yesterday. J&T shares are expected to begin trading on October 27. A tenth of the total is offered in Hong Kong and the rest abroad. The issue price is HKD12 (USD1.50) per share.
Former executives of Chinese phone maker Oppo founded the delivery company in August 2015 in Indonesia. The company, which provides warehousing and freight forwarding services to e-commerce companies, bought Alibaba-backed express delivery business Best in China in 2021 and has since expanded its regional expansion. The company operates in 13 countries, including some in Latin America and the Middle East.
The listing is expected to be the second-largest on the HKEX this year since Chinese baijiu maker ZJLD Group went public in April, raising $675.2 million. However, the amount is more modest than expected, as Securities Times reported in June that J&T aims to raise between $500 billion and $1 billion through the IPO, putting the updated target even below the lower end of the previous range.
J&T has nine major investors who are also existing shareholders, including SF Holding, Temasek Holdings, Tencent Holdings and Hillhouse Capital Group. They subscribed to shares worth $199.5 million. Shenzhen-based WeChat operator Tencent is the largest shareholder, holding a 6.3 percent stake in J&T, while express courier SF’s stake is 3.1 percent.
J&T returned to record profits last year, generating net income of about $1.6 billion. The gross profit margin rose from minus 120.4 percent in 2020 to minus 16.2 percent.
Editor: Emmi Laine
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