The listing in Hong Kong is pending, and WEILAI Automobile has reported the news that it intends to go to Singapore for a second listing.
On January 26, ACCORDING TO IFR, a media outlet owned by Reuters, WEILAI is considering a secondary listing in Singapore, but it will not completely abandon its plan to list in Hong Kong, and will continue to discuss with Hong Kong regulators to try to solve the current obstacles to listing in Hong Kong.
In response to the above news, Weilai responded to the Future Automobile Daily, "For market rumors, the company does not respond."
In the view of Zhang Junyi, a managing partner of Oliver Valve, it is "natural for a company to contact different markets in the process of seeking an IPO." It is not impossible to move to Singapore for listing.
Weilai chose Singapore, most likely because compared to strict Hong Kong stocks, "it is easier to be in Singapore (listed)," said Tao Zheng, a private equity researcher, according to an analysis of future auto-time (ID: auto-time).
In March 2021, it was reported that NIO intended to go public in Hong Kong. According to common sense, "it is particularly easy for US stocks to return to Hong Kong for listing, and the market value, income, etc. can go fast lane if they meet certain standards, and they can be done as soon as 30 days", Tao Zheng commented.
However, Weilai's road to Hong Kong IPO is not smooth, and industry insiders believe that perhaps the user trust has "dragged its legs".
In January 2019, Li Bin, the founder of NIO, took out 50 million shares of NIO shares to establish a user trust fund and handed over the right to dispose of the proceeds to the user. Tao Zheng said, "The concept of user trust is relatively new, and it may be considered that WEILAI is transferring wealth, so the regulatory authorities need to know more about the business." ”
Seeing that Xiaopeng and Ideal have already met in the Hong Kong stock victory, Weilai can't sit still.
"NIO should want to find an exchange in Asia to list," an analyst in the automotive industry group of a Hong Kong investment bank told Future Auto Daily, "during the waiting period, NIO may try to 'walk on two legs in Singapore and Hong Kong'."
As a major securities market in Asia, the listing conditions on the main board of the Singapore Securities Market are relatively relaxed, and even do not require corporate profits; in terms of finances, financial soundness and liquidity are not difficult; and management is basically stable.
For WEILAI, it is much easier to meet the above requirements.
According to the financial report, from 2018 to 2020, WEILAI's operating income was 4.95 billion yuan, 7.82 billion yuan and 16.258 billion yuan, respectively. As of Q3 2020, NIO had a total of $47 billion in cash and cash equivalents and restricted currencies, which met the listing conditions on the Singapore Main Board.
Source: Visual China
Listing on the SGX is also relatively short. According to a person familiar with the matter, under normal circumstances, it takes 6-12 months from the official start of the listing work to the time the company's shares are allowed to be publicly offered and listed for trading. On January 20, Warren Technology Acquisition Enterprises Limited completed its listing in Singapore, which took about two weeks from prospectus disclosure to IPO.
Choosing Singapore will also help NIO achieve its dream of listing in Hong Kong. According to Hong Kong Capital, companies listed in Singapore can take advantage of their docking with the Hong Kong market and use the Singapore securities market as a springboard for Hong Kong listing, such as "Yuexiu Investment" and "Volkswagen Food" after being listed in Singapore, and then successfully listing in Hong Kong through the way of "introduction to listing".
In fact, Singapore has attracted a number of well-known Chinese companies to list on the SGX, including Sino-Singapore Pharmaceutical and Jinluo Company. According to public information, at the end of 2009, more than 40% of foreign companies listed on the Singapore Exchange were Chinese companies.
In the automotive industry, Lifan founder Yin Mingshan also had the idea of going public in Singapore. In 2004, Yin Mingshan said in an exclusive interview with Lianhe Zaobao, "If Singapore can be faster and more efficient, I am willing to go public there." As long as the development of the group is strong, it will be the same where it is listed. I've heard that the Singapore stock market is transparent and regulated. ”
Yin Mingshan said that Chinese enterprises, including state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, have flocked to Hong Kong to list, so that the threshold in Hong Kong is getting higher and higher, the procedures are cumbersome and time-consuming. "Why do you have to go public in Hong Kong, it's like painting yourself a prison."
One of the important reasons why the favor of Hong Kong enterprises remains unchanged is that the overall average valuation of the various sectors of the SGX is lower than that of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Want Want shares were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 1996, and in 2007, Want Want Group Chairman Choi Yan Ming decided to privatize Want Want shares and withdraw from listing in Singapore.
Cai Yanming believes that listing on the SGX is a "wrong decision", the Singapore market is not liquid, and the company's market value is too low. In 2008, Want Want shares were listed in Hong Kong. In the more than 200 days from its delisting in Singapore to its listing in Hong Kong, the market value of Want Want shares increased from US$3.5 billion to US$5.1 billion.
At present, the prospects for listing on the Star Market are uncertain, and Chinese companies listed in the United States are facing regulatory uncertainty. As a result, Hong Kong has become the first choice for the secondary listing of "Wei Xiaoli" and other new forces IPO.
After all, the new forces have not yet shaken off losses, and even the first three brothers "Wei Xiaoli" have not achieved profits. For new cars, in order to obtain long-term development, more financial support is needed.
In 2021, Ideal and Xiaopeng successfully IPOed in Hong Kong, each receiving a considerable amount of money. Among them, Xiaopeng Financing subscription reached 14.73 times, with a total financing amount of HK$14 billion, about RMB11.652 billion.
For Weilai, there are still many places that need to spend money to cope with more fierce market competition. Therefore, it is imperative to promote the secondary listing as soon as possible.
According to the plan, in 2022, NIO will deliver three new models based on the NT2.0 platform, such as ET7 and ET5. NIO will also enter the mass market through the new brand and has established a core team.
In addition, NIO will continue to expand the power exchange network in the Chinese market, the number of substations will exceed 1300, and more than 6,000 supercharge piles and more than 10,000 destination charging piles will be laid. At the same time, after entering Norway in 2021, NIO also plans to enter 5 countries in the European market in 2022. These are money-burning projects.
"Weilai may still give priority to Hong Kong stocks, and returning to Hong Kong for listing is a kind of protection for enterprises involved in automatic driving data", Tao Zheng analyzed, in addition, "with the Hong Kong Stock Connect, it is also convenient for domestic investors to buy", which is also a reason.
The author | Wu Xiaoyu
Edit the | Li Huanhuan
