Hong Kong rejects IPO application of Morgan Stanley-backed insurance broker
24/07/2017 15:39
By Elzio Barreto
HONG KONG, July 24 (Reuters) - The Hong Kong stock exchange
has rejected the IPO application of AMTD Strategic Capital Group
IPO-AMTD.HK , a corporate insurance broker backed by Morgan
Stanley's private equity arm.
It becomes only the sixth company to fall foul of Hong Kong
stock listing regulations in nearly four years.
The Hong Kong company, controlled by AMTD Asia, filed in May
for the IPO, which Thomson Reuters publication IFR said could
total $200 million. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nIFP3cYkJK
The application was rejected on June 5, according to a Hong
Kong stock exchange decision dated July 21.
Hong Kong introduced stricter listing rules in 2014 to
improve the quality of listings but the exchange did not say why
it had rejected AMTD's application.
AMTD Strategic Capital is 79 percent owned by AMTD Asia,
which in turn is owned by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia
(MSPEA), asset management firm L.R. Capital Group and China
Minsheng Investment Corp, China's largest privately owned
investment company.
China Everbright Capital Ltd and China Merchants Securities
had been hired as joint sponsors of the IPO, according to the
IPO prospectus.
Under Hong Kong's tightened rules, the regulator names IPO
sponsors and issuers whose applications are incomplete and bans
them from refiling the documents for eight weeks.
Banks are also criminally liable if an IPO prospectus is
found to have misled investors.
AMTD Strategic Capital has raised $34 million this year
alone in funds for business expansion, from seven investors,
according its IPO prospectus. They included Morgan Stanley's
private equity arm, an investment holding company linked to the
co-founder of Meitu Inc 1357.HK , an affiliate of Sohu.com Inc
SOHU.O and real estate development firm Indochina Capital.
(Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Susan Fenton)
((elzio.barreto@thomsonreuters.com;)(852)(2843-1608; Reuters
Messaging: elzio.barreto.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: AMTD STRATEGIC IPO/