COUNTRY REPORT CHINAAugust 2016 with 22 banks, including
MLABs BNP, StanChart and SMBC. That
transaction paid a top-level upfront fee
of 60bp and a margin of 90% of the PBoC
rate for the same 2.75-year average life,
translating into a top-level all-in pricing of
94.6% of the PBoC rate.
The borrower, founded in 2012, is a
joint venture between Beijing Automotive
Industry Holding and Hyundai Motor.
For full allocations, see http://www.ifrasia.com.
RESTRUCTURING
› WUZHOU TO INVESTIGATE TRANSACTIONS
WUZHOU INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, which has
defaulted on its offshore and onshore
bonds, has established a special committee
to investigate some unauthorised
transactions.
In a stock exchange filing on September
17, the Hong Kong-listed company said
its board had received enquiries from its
independent restructuring adviser and had
become aware that, after December 31
2017, the company may have transferred
the equity interest of certain subsidiaries
while such transfers had not been approved
by the board.
“The board takes a serious view about
this matter,” it said, and hence has
established a committee to investigate.
A further announcement will be made
once more information is available, the
company said.
Wuzhou International said on July 5
it had received demands from creditors
related to defaults of Rmb1bn (US$145m)
under its loan agreements, which triggered
a cross-default on its US$300m 13.75% US
dollar bonds due September 26 2018.
Onshore unit Wuxi Wuzhou
International Decoration City last month
failed to repay Rmb500m 6.9% three-year
non-put two notes listed on the Shanghai
Stock Exchange.
Wuzhou International develops
and operates wholesale markets and
commercial complexes in China. It earlier
said it was negotiating a debt restructuring
with its creditors and planned to sell some
assets to help repay the debts.
EQUITY CAPITAL MARKETS
› HAIDILAO PRICES IPO AT TOP
HAIDILAO INTERNATIONAL has raised HK$7.57bn
(US$964m) from its Hong Kong IPO after
pricing it at the top of the indicative price
range.
The company, one of China’s most
popular hotpot restaurant chains, sold
about 425m shares, or 8.01% of its enlarged
share capital, at HK$17.80 each versus a
HK$14.80–$17.80 range.
The final price represents a 2019 P/E
of 30.2 and values the company at about
US$12bn.
Five cornerstone investors have
committed to taking up a combined
US$375m of the deal.
The company’s shares will start trading
on September 26.
CMB International and Goldman Sachs are
joint sponsors. The two banks are also joint
global coordinators and joint bookrunners
with CICC. Citigroup and UOB are the other
bookrunners.› 100CREDIT PLANS US IPOChinese fintech company 100CREDIT, which is
backed by China Reform Fund, is planning
to raise about US$200m–$300m from a US
IPO in 2019, according to people close to
the deal.
The company has started working with
advisers on the transaction, said the people.
Founded in 2014, Beijing-based 100Credit
uses AI, big data, cloud computing
and other innovative technologies to
provide credit services to customers. Its
clients include banks, consumer finance
companies, fintech enterprises and small
loan firms.
The company reportedly raised Rmb1bn
(US$146m) in April from a private
financing round led by China Reform Fund
Management.
China Reform Fund Management is
a private equity investment firm under
the China Reform Holdings Corporation,
which is a stated-owned asset management
corporation under direct supervision from
the Chinese government.
According to 100Credit’s website, its
other shareholders include China Huarong
Asset Management, CICC, Hillhouse
Capital, IDG Capital and Sequoia Capital.
The company did not reply to an email
from IFR seeking comment on its IPO plan.› MINDRAY PREPARES JUMBO CHINEXT IPOSHENZHEN MINDRAY BIO-MEDICAL ELECTRONICS,
a manufacturer of medical devices,
conducted pricing consultation last
Thursday for what could be the largest IPO
on China’s Nasdaq-style ChiNext board.
Mindray, which was delisted from the
New York Stock Exchange in March 2016,
plans to sell up to 122m shares, or about
10% of the enlarged share capital, to raise
funds for the development of seven projects
costing a combined Rmb5.75bn.
The float could surpass the Rmb5.46bnJune listing of Contemporary Amperex
Technology, China’s largest lithium battery
producer, which is currently the largest
ChiNext IPO.
It is unclear at this stage whether
Mindray’s IPO can reach its target size.
CATL wanted to raise Rmb13bn but was
forced to cut the deal size by more than
half as it could not sell its shares above the
regulator’s unwritten valuation cap of 23
times historical earnings.
Mindray will set the IPO price on
September 25. Bookbuilding will run for a
day on September 27.
According to a filing, Mindray’s net profit
rose 61% to Rmb2.6bn in 2017 from a year
earlier, while its revenue grew 24% over the
same period to Rmb11.2bn.
Huatai United Securities is the sponsor of
the deal.› LAIX LAUNCHES US$78M NYSE IPOLAIX, which runs English teaching app
Liulishuo, has opened books for a NYSE IPO
to raise up to US$78m.
The Shanghai-based company is offering
5.75m primary American depositary shares
at a price range of US$11.50–$13.50. There
is a 15% greenshoe.
Founded in 2013, LAIX teaches Chinese
students English via mobile apps, primarily
its flagship “English Liulishuo” app.
It had 7.2 million average monthly active
users in the first half of 2018 and had
accumulated 83.8 million registered users
as of June 30 this year.
The company posted a net loss of
Rmb182m in the January to June period,
increased from Rmb67m a year ago. It had
losses of Rmb243m in 2017.
LAIX’s chief executive officer, Yi Wang,
currently owns 27.9% of the company,
while IDG Capital and Trustbridge Partners
each own 13.4%.
The deal will price after the US market
closes on September 26 and the stock is due
to list on September 27.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the
underwriters.
LAIX plans to use the proceeds for
research and development, sales and
marketing, general corporate purposes
and working capital, including strategic
investments and acquisitions.› COOTEK LAUNCHES NYSE IPOCOOTEK, the Chinese maker of keyboard app
TouchPal, has started bookbuilding for an
NYSE IPO of up to US$60.9m.
The company is selling 4.35m ADS in
an indicative price range of US$12–$14
each. The range represents a 2019 P/E of
12.2–14.2.