China’s Tsingshan Holding Group, the world’s biggest nickel producer, is set to raise up to HK$2.39bn ($306mn) in an initial public offering of a battery-making subsidiary on Monday, testing investor appetite at the end of another lacklustre year for listings in Hong Kong.
The IPO of Chinese lithium-ion battery manufacturer REPT Battero Energy is set to be the fourth largest in Hong Kong this year but comes after tepid market sentiment for new share listings. Its stock exchange has become only the seventh-largest destination for IPOs in 2023, after topping the global rankings as recently as 2019.
The listing gives rare public exposure to Tsingshan and its low-key founder Xiang Guangda, who was unexpectedly thrust into the global spotlight when his huge bet on falling nickel prices backfired in March last year. Tsingshan suffered a trading loss of about $1bn and the London Metal Exchange suspended nickel trading for eight days.