The U.S. tech IPO window may have reopened in 2017 following a lull last year, but the outlook is also looking rosier for another listing platform located on the other side of world.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) is experiencing a renaissance of sorts among the tech industry. Selfie app company Meitu held the largest listing from a tech company for nearly a decade in December — raising more than $500 million with its floating — while in recent weeks PC gaming brand Razer and Tencent-controlled e-books service China Publishing have both announced their intention to list in the city-state.
Hong Kong was widely thought to have blown its chance to put itself on the global map when Alibaba opted for a New York listing in 2014 because the HKSE was unable to accommodate its company structure. But, nearly three years on, the tide appears to be turning for some.
Speaking on stage at our TechCrunch China event in Shenzhen last month, a senior executive for logistics on-demand company Lalamove said his firm is eying a public listing in Hong Kong before 2020. Blake Larson, head of international for the company — which raised a $30 million Series B in January — said a dual-listing in the U.S. is possible, but the HKSE is the priority to “show it is possible to build a global technology company from Hong Kong.”
There’s plenty of interest beyond local companies, too, it seems. At the Rise event in Hong Kong this month, TechCrunch spoke to two founders who anonymously revealed that their Asia-based companies, each of which has raised more than $100 million in investment and does business worldwide, are devoting significant time towards a potential HKSE IPO in the future.
Ant Financial, the Alibaba affiliated fintech firm, has also been linked with a Hong Kong IPO. The firm raised over $3 billion at a valuation of up to $60 billion at the beginning of the year — that cash injection is reported to have pushed its much-anticipated IPO plan back to at least 2018 at the earliest.
Hong Kong may have landed a collection of reputable companies in Meitu, Razer and China Publishing, but it still has some way to go before it becomes a viable option for all.
For one thing, this trio all have notable businesses and brands in China, which is really a requisite…