Ping An Healthcare opens up 4.6 pct in Hong Kong debut (updated)

Ping An Healthcare and Technology Co

04/05/2018 03:36

* Ping An Healthcare debuted at HK$57.30 per share
    * Had raised $1.12 billion after pricing IPO at HK$54.80 a
share
    * Company is loss making despite stellar revenue growth

 (Adds chairman comments, company background, updates shares)
    HONG KONG, May 4 (Reuters) - Ping An Healthcare and
Technology Co Ltd  1833.HK  shares opened up 4.6 percent on
their market debut in Hong Kong on Friday, as investors jostled
for a piece of the fast-growing business.
    The company, that operates China's largest online healthcare
platform, raised $1.12 billion after pricing its IPO at HK$54.80
a share in what is Hong Kong's largest new listing this year. 
    Shares in the company opened at HK$57.30 ($7.30).
    Founded in 2014, the company also known as Ping An Good
Doctor was among several tech start-ups backed by Ping An
Insurance Group Co of China Ltd  2318.HK   601318.SS .
    It delivers healthcare services such as online family
doctors and health mall services through its mobile platform and
has seen its revenue surge nearly seven times to 1.9 billion
yuan ($299.59 million) over the past three years.
    It has a nationwide network of healthcare service providers
covering 3,100 hospitals, 1,100 health check-up centres, 500
dental clinics and 7,500 pharmacy outlets.
    "We are at the stage to acquire more traffic and change
consumers' habit of seeing doctors and managing their health,"
Ping An Healthcare Chairman Wang Tao said at the listing
ceremony.
    The company's home doctor and consumer medical segments are
expected to further grow, Wang said, adding that he believed
that in the future the company would eventually make a profit.
    The Shanghai-based company has posted net losses for the
past three consecutive years, as high cost of sales offset a
stellar revenue growth.
    Ping An Healthcare's debut comes at a time when Hong Kong is
implementing new rules to attract more tech and biotech IPOs to
the city, away from other major centres like New York and the
Chinese mainland.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1RH0NB
    Hong Kong is set to see a slew of blockbuster tech IPOs over
the coming months, including smartphone and smart device maker
Xiaomi and on-demand online services provider Meituan-Dianping.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1PA26T urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1R806Q
    The listing of Good Doctor could pave the way for floats of
other Ping An units, such as Lufax, China's biggest online
wealth management platform, and Ping An Healthcare Management, a
medical data collection and analysis business. 
    The Good Doctor has secured seven cornerstone investors
including Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC  GIC.UL , Canada
Pension Plan Investment Board and U.S. asset manager BlackRock,
it said in a filing last week.
    It added that proceeds from the IPO would be used to fund
acquisitions and strategic alliances as well as for research.
 ($1 = 7.8490 Hong Kong dollars)
 ($1 = 6.3420 Chinese yuan)

 (Reporting by Julie Zhu; additional reporting by Donny Kwok and
Kane Wu; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
 ((sumeet.chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com; +852-2847 2094; Reuters
Messaging: sumeet.chatterjee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))