Its U.S. Shares Soaring, JD.com Files to List in Hong Kong
April 29 2020 - 3:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Joanne Chiu
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. filed a confidential
application to list in Hong Kong, moving a step closer to a stock
sale as early as June, according to people familiar with the
matter.
The Beijing-based online retailer, already listed on the Nasdaq
Stock Market, is targeting a $2 billion share sale for its
secondary listing in Hong Kong, one of the people said. JD.com
declined to comment.
JD.com's American depositary shares have climbed around 24% this
year, defying the broad coronavirus-driven slump. The company has
benefited from surging online sales during the pandemic--in China
especially--as the closing of many physical stores and curtailing
of domestic and international travel left people shopping at
home.
The company, whose wares range from appliances and computers to
apparel and food, said in March that it expected first-quarter
sales to be up at least 10% from the year-earlier $18 billion. For
2019 as a whole, revenue topped $82.9 billion, with net income of
$1.8 billion.
JD.com is likely to report first-quarter results in May.
The plan to list in Hong Kong follows larger rival Alibaba Group
Holding Ltd.'s listing there last November, which raised $13
billion. Alibaba's shares surged in the days and weeks that
followed, benefiting investors in both Hong Kong and New York.
JD.com went public in the U.S. in 2014, a few months before
Alibaba, and its shares have more than doubled since then, making
its market capitalization as of Tuesday about $64 billion.
The size of the company's Hong Kong stock sale will depend on
market conditions and its U.S. share price as the secondary listing
nears. The shares Alibaba sold in Hong Kong represented less than
3% of its U.S. market capitalization at the time.
JD.com's secondary stock sale is being led by Bank of America
Corp. and UBS Group AG.
A Hong Kong listing would bring JD.com closer to its home market
and attract more investors familiar with its business. It would
also be a win for Hong Kong's stock exchange in these turbulent
times.
In 2018 the exchange operator changed its rules to admit
companies with unequal voting rights, and said it would also allow
large Chinese companies listed in the U.S. or London to add a
secondary listing in the city. The changes have drawn the initial
public offerings of some of China's most prominent technology
companies, including Meituan Dianping and Xiaomi Corp., and
investment bankers say more businesses already listed abroad may
look to follow in Alibaba's footsteps.
In addition to JD.com, the U.S.-listed Chinese tech companies
that market participants expect will seek secondary listings in
Hong Kong include search-engine operator Baidu Inc., online travel
agency Trip.com and NetEase Inc., China's second-biggest gaming
firm.
Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2020 04:14 ET (08:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
JD com (NASDAQ:JD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
JD com (NASDAQ:JD)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024