GogoX to hold rare in-person Hong Kong IPO press briefing

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - It has been months since bankers and reporters in Hong Kong have gone to any in-person press conferences for an initial public offering (IPO).

GogoX Holdings is ending the lull.

The Hong Kong-based logistics start-up is inviting the press on Tuesday (June 14) to its IPO briefing, taking place in an office building in Admiralty neighborhood. The company's co-chief executives He Song and Steven Lam will be among those attending the occasion.

The press conference signals how the financial circle in Hong Kong has revived face-to-face events after more than two years of stringent social distancing measures and travel restrictions.

Online events remain the norm though as the city still maintains certain Covid-19 policies including a capacity cap at event premises.

GogoX, though it is raising only about US$86 million (S$119.2 million), has enlisted four banks as its IPO sponsors: China International Capital, UBS Group, Bocom International Holdings and ABC International Holdings.

Any deal will test the waters in Hong Kong's capital market, where the deal flow has significantly slowed down amid market turmoil from inflation concerns and the war in Ukraine.

GoGoX, formerly known as GoGoVan, says it is the largest logistics service provider in Hong Kong. It also operates in five other countries across 340 cities, including Singapore, according to its website.

The company's efforts to list in Hong Kong also come after its competitor, logistics start-up Lalamove, was last year reported to be weighing a US$1 billion IPO in the city.

Lalamove had initially been preparing of a listing in the United States, however those plans fell through after Chinese e-commerce giant Didi Global's plans for an US$4.4 billion US IPO were scuppered by the authorities.

Lalamove also operates in Singapore.

Companies have raised about $2.3 billion through IPOs so far this year, only a fraction of the US$25.9 billion raised during the same period in 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.