China’S Anjoy Foods Opened Flat In Hong Kong Market Debut

China’s Anjoy Foods opened flat in Hong Kong market debut.

Anjoy Foods Group, mainland China’s largest producer of frozen hotpot ingredients, said it plans to expand in overseas markets like Europe and Southeast Asia after it lists in Hong Kong.

Liang Chen, board secretary of the Fujian-based company, told that proceeds from the share sale would bolster its competitiveness in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, where hotpot has been flourishing. Anjoy kicked off its Hong Kong bookbuilding on Wednesday, according to its listing prospectus.

“Southeast Asia is a fast-growing market where not a single established brand [of frozen food] can be found,” he said. “We believe it is a place for us to repeat our success after two decades of development in China.”

The company plans to raise as much as HK$2.64 billion (US$336.3 million) by selling 39.99 million shares at a maximum offer price of HK$66 each, according to its stock exchange filing, or a 21 per cent discount to its Shanghai-listed share price of 76.38 yuan (US$10.64/HK$83.62) on Tuesday.

Anjoy will allocate 10 per cent of the base offering to Hong Kong investors and 90 per cent to global investors, according to the filing. It is expected to start trading in Hong Kong on July 4, according to its tentative timetable.

A dual listing would raise Anjoy’s international profile and was an opportunity to propel its drive to go global, Liang said. Anjoy was seeking to become the latest mainland company to embrace an influx of international capital into Hong Kong as global investors sought alternatives to US assets.

“The timing is right for us now to list shares in Hong Kong,” Liang said. “The H-share market is providing Chinese companies like us [with the] best fundraising platform as we expand our business abroad.”