(Reuters) -Electric vehicle maker Seres Group is aiming to raise as much as HK$13.18 billion ($1.7 billion) in a Hong Kong listing, per a filing released on Monday, offering 100.2 million H-shares at a maximum offer price of HK$131.50.
The listing marks Hong Kong’s resurgence as the leading offshore fundraising hub for Chinese firms, following increased regulatory scrutiny in the U.S.
It also comes on the heels of Chinese machinery maker Sany Heavy Industry’s plans to raise up to HK$12.36 billion in Hong Kong.
The offering has drawn 22 cornerstone investors committing about $826.5 million, or nearly 49% of the base deal size.
The largest commitment comes from Chongqing Industrial Parent Fund, which pledged around HK$2.18 billion, alongside other investors including Schroders, Mirae Asset, Jump Trading and China MeiDong.
The retail offering runs from October 27 to October 31, with pricing expected on or before November 3 and trading set to begin on November 5.
Seres, the EV partner for Huawei Technologies, is expecting to receive net proceeds of about HK$12.92 billion from the offering, and plans to use a major chunk of it for research and development products.
The company will leverage about 20% of the proceeds to expand into diverse marketing channels, grow overseas sales and develop charging network services.
Another 10% would be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, it said.
“We plan to increase our investment in AI technology applied in the field of intelligent cockpit and driving assistance, aiming to improve the intelligence and reliability of intelligent cockpit and driving assistance systems,” it added.
China International Capital Corp and China Galaxy International are joint sponsors of the Hong Kong listing.
($1 = HK$7.7675)
(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Kim Coghill)
