Weibo files for Hong Kong secondary listing as U.S listed Chinese tech firms acc...

Weibo files for Hong Kong secondary listing as U.S listed Chinese tech firms accelerate pace to list home

Weibo files for Hong Kong secondary listing as U.S listed Chinese tech firms accelerate pace to list home

November 20, 2021 3:25 pm

China’s leading microblogging platform Weibo has been approved by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for its secondary listing, according to a draft prospectus filed by Weibo.

Detail:

Weibo, which is 44.4 percent owned by Chinese social media company Sina Corporation, did not indicate the size of the fundraising that it is seeking to raise in the city, nor specify a timetable for the sale.

Weibo will become the latest US-listed Chinese technology firm to seek for a secondary listing after Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto raised USD1.7 billion in August in Hong Kong.

Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Citic Securities and CICC are the joint underwriters of the deal.

Apart from the parent company Sina Corporation, Alibaba Group Holding also own a 29.6 percent of the platform, making it the second largest shareholder of Weibo.

Weibo had 566 million monthly active users and 246 million average daily active users as of June. Advertising is Weibo’s largest revenue generator, which accounted for 86 percent and 88 percent of Weibo’s total revenue for the first half of this year.

Weibo booked a net profit of USD181.7 million for the third quarter ended September, surging from USD33.8 million during the same period a year ago. Weibo’s total revenue rose 30 percent year-on-year to USD607.4 million.

In September, Weibo banned dozens of influential users accounts as China’s regulators launched a campaign to tighten its control over online content.

Context:

Amid escalating tensions between the U.S and China over technology and trade in recent year, Chinese technology firms such as Alibaba, Baidu, JD and Li Auto have increasingly filed and completed secondary listing to hedge against political risks.

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