Chinese courier giant SF aims to raise up to $3 bln in Hong Kong listing - sources (updated)

Hangzhou Sf Intra-City Industrial Co

05/05/2023 09:09

(Changes slug, adds source, IPO data, company background)
    By Julie Zhu and Scott Murdoch
       HONG KONG/SYDNEY, May 5 (Reuters) - China's largest
express delivery company SF Holding Co Ltd  002352.SZ  plans to
raise up to $3 billion in a second listing in Hong Kong as soon
as later this year, in what would be one of the largest public
offerings in the city, two sources said. 
    The courier group, regarded as China's answer to FedEx Corp
 FDX.N  and DHL  DHL.UL , has picked Goldman Sachs Group Inc
 GS.N , Huatai Securities  601688.SS  and JPMorgan Chase & Co
 JPM.N  to work on the listing, which could raise $2 billion to
$3 billion, said the sources with knowledge of the matter. 
    The Shenzhen-listed company, known for its flagship SF
Express delivery business, has started preparations for the Hong
Kong listing and aims to file the prospectus with the Hong Kong
exchange by June, one of the sources said. 
    The sources declined to be identified as the information is
private. 
    SF Holding, which has a market value of 267 billion yuan 
($38.63 billion), did not immediately respond to Reuters'
request for comment. Goldman and Huatai did not respond to
requests for comment.
    JPMorgan declined to comment. 
    Bloomberg News on Friday first reported SF Holding's listing
plans, citing people familiar with the matter.
    The offering would provide a boost for Hong Kong's capital
markets, roiled by volatility across the global financial
markets due to rising interest rates, high inflation and global
political tensions.
    The Asian financial hub saw a 53% drop in the value of
initial public offerings in the first quarter of 2023, according
to Refinitiv data. 
    So far this year $1.49 billion has been raised in new share
sales, marginally higher than the $1.2 billion raised in the
same period of 2022, as per Refinitiv.
    Established in the southern Chinese port city of Shunde in
1993 by chairman Wang Wei, SF has grown into a leading player in
the world's largest express delivery market, with services
covering almost all of the country. 
    Its express delivery business covers nearly 100 countries
overseas including the United States and Japan, according to its
2022 annual report.
    SF went public in Shenzhen in 2017 and listed two of its
units - SF Real Estate Investment Trust  2191.HK  and Hangzhou
SF Intra-City Industrial  9699.HK  - in Hong Kong in 2021. 
    That year it became the controlling shareholder of Hong
Kong's Kerry Logistics Network Ltd  0636.HK  after acquiring a
52% stake of the company. 
    
($1 = 6.9115 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 (Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in
Sydney; Additional reporting by Gokul Pisharody and Chandni Shah
in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Jane Merriman and Louise
Heavens)
 ((Gokul.Pisharody@thomsonreuters.com;))