Many successful Chinese companies listed in the US, rather than in China, because of the stringent regulations in their own country. Now going IPO in China is at least becoming easier, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order to Harbour Times. And some Chinese companies might come back from the US.
Harbour Times:
Xiaomi filed documents in early May to list in Hong Kong. The company is expected to raise $10 billion from the offering and aimed for a valuation of about $100 billion, despite the head of the company’s top lawyer Zhang Liang said in March 2015 that the company had no plans to list within the next 5 years.
The application came after the China Securities Regulatory Commission reportedly issued new listing rules in April in hopes of retaining potential technological giants in the home market, by promising fast-tracked approvals and easing regulations, on top of additional incentives.
The new rules allow non-listed local companies to conduct initial public offerings without meeting the traditional financial requirements, according to reports.
“Changing the requirements will unlock opportunities for both start-ups and investors and is something that should have been done years ago,” said Shaun Rein, managing director of the China Market Research Group in Shanghai.
“Many Chinese firms that would prefer to go public in China ended up listed in the US instead because of onerous profit requirements. In fact, many great companies like Amazon never would have been allowed to go public in China if they had been Chinese start-ups.”
Meanwhile, the pain of losing out on a listing by Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba in 2014 has also prompted the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) to examine new measures.
Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at our meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
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