Hong Kong File photo

 More Chinese companies are seeking to raise funds in the Hong Kong market, which is still seen as an attractive destination. 

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Chinese video streaming platform Bilibili Inc. has received the green light from the Hong Kong stock exchange for its proposed second listing.

The report came after news that Chinese search engine giant Baidu is seeking to raise as much as HK$28 billion ($3.6 billion) in a secondary listing in Hong Kong, the latest US-listed mainland tech giant to eye a flotation in the city.

NASDAQ-listed Baidu said it would sell 95 million shares in the Hong Kong offering and the offer price will be no more than HK$295.00 per share, according to the regulatory filing on Thursday. 

Bloomberg reported that Baidu aims to set the final price before the US market opens on March 17 and start trading in Hong Kong on March 23. At $3.6 billion, it would be the biggest homecoming listing of a US-traded Chinese company in Hong Kong since JD.com Inc.'s June 2020 offering, which raised $4.5 billion.

Chinese firms listed in the US have growing concerns about the current unfriendly environment in the country, and are worried they might be forced to delist at some point in the future, as has already happened to some other Chinese firms, said Dong Dengxin, director of the Financial Securities Institute at Wuhan University of Science and Technology.

The Biden administration has continued some policies from the Trump period in cracking down on Chinese firms listed in the US. Chinese state-owned oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corp became the latest Chinese company to be pushed out of the New York Stock Exchange on Biden's watch.

"Chinese firms listed there need to avoid such potential risks. For some big firms, a secondary listing in Hong Kong is a wise choice, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has shown a welcoming attitude toward these firms, especially those in the new-economy sector," Dong told the Global Times on Friday.

It is likely that Hong Kong will attract a large batch of high-quality Chinese firms listed in the US, which will bring better performance to the Hong Kong stock market, said Dong.

Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, said on Friday that the status of Hong Kong's financial center will be further consolidated after the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the improvement of the electoral system.

He said that the political, economic, social and business environment of Hong Kong will be further improved, and the status of Hong Kong's financial center will be further consolidated.

The Hong Kong market is becoming an important place for many companies to go public. As of the end of 2020, HK$400.2 billion ($51.5 billion) had been raised by IPOs in Hong Kong, ranking second in the world.

Global Times