China halts IPOs of at least 3 major bubble tea chains after shares of rivals plunge, sources say
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Bubble tea makers like Auntea Jenny face fierce competition as Chinese consumers tighten their belts in a slowing economy.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HONG KONG - The offshore share offering plans of at least three Chinese bubble tea makers have been put on hold by China’s securities regulator due to the dour market performance of peers in Hong Kong amid weaker consumer sentiment at home, said sources.
Mixue Bingcheng, Guming Holdings and Auntea Jenny are among those whose offshore listing plans have been delayed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) in 2024, they said.
Mixue, which has roughly 36,000 stores, was looking to raise up to US$1 billion (S$1.29 billion) in its Hong Kong initial public offering, which would have been the largest new share sale in at least a year in the city, said five of the sources.
Two of the sources said Guming, with 9,000 stores, aimed to raise up to US$500 million via a Hong Kong listing.
But, according to four of the sources, both Mixue and Guming’s IPO applications lapsed earlier in 2024
As part of rules unveiled by the CSRC in March 2023 to strengthen oversight of offshore listings, Chinese companies looking to list in Hong Kong or New York must first get approval from their home regulator.
The regulatory move to put the bubble tea makers’ IPO plans on hold was triggered by the nearly 27 per cent Hong Kong debut-day slump in shares of Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial, the Chinese tea chain known as Chabaidao, said the sources.
Chabaidao, which raised US$330 million in April, has seen its shares falling 70 per cent from its HK$17.50 per share IPO price.
The regulator’s cautious stance underscores the tighter scrutiny of offshore IPO hopefuls in China, reducing the number of deals in Hong Kong and New York and stymieing Chinese companies’ intentions to tap the capital market for fund-raising.
Chinese companies have raised just US$2.56 billion via IPOs in Hong Kong in 2024, versus US$5.7 billion in the whole of 2023, according to Dealogic data.
The total haul in 2024 is far below the US$22.1 billion year-to-date record set in 2021.
The regulatory caution towards offshore share offerings by the bubble tea makers stems from low product differentiation and fierce competition in the sector at a time when consumers are tightening their belts in a slowing economy.
Highlighting the tea sector’s weak performance, Chabaidao in August reported a 10 per cent drop in gross revenue and 19 per cent fall in gross profit in the first half of 2024, compared with the year-ago period.
Shares of Hong Kong-listed Nayuki, China’s only publicly traded bubble tea chain before Chabaidao, have dropped more than 90 per cent since their debut in 2021.
The bubble tea makers are not the only ones to take a hit from the heightened regulatory caution – Beijing currently has more than 110 offshore listing hopefuls awaiting their approvals. REUTERS
