China’s top car exporter Chery gains in Hong Kong debut

The shares finished the session up 3.8%, resulting in a market capitalization of about $24 billion. That makes it bigger than XPeng Inc. but smaller than Great Wall Motor Co. in terms of valuation.

Chery is the latest Chinese company to capitalize on Hong Kong’s popularity as a listing destination, where proceeds have soared to a four-year high. More billion-dollar debuts are on the way, with Zijin Gold International Co. planning for its shares to start trading next week in the city after a $3.2 billion IPO, the world’s biggest deal of its kind since May.

“There should be demand from investors looking to get exposure to China’s auto exports potential, particularly into emerging markets where Chery has been very successful,” said Eugene Hsiao, head of China equity strategy at Macquarie Capital. 

A stock gauge tracking global automaking has gained 12% this year, with Chinese companies leading the gains.  

Chery, which assembles Jaguars and Land Rovers in China, said it plans to plow the proceeds toward research and development, overseas expansion and factory upgrades.

Chery delivered 1.14 million vehicles to foreign markets in 2024, or 40% of its total. Rivals including BYD Co. and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. have also been pushing for sales overseas, where cars tend to fetch higher profit margins than at home. 

The automaker has remained China’s top exporting brand every year since 2003, according to Frost & Sullivan. Its lineup has a high proportion of fuel-powered vehicles, with relatively affordable pricing, making them well-suited to emerging markets. Russia, the Middle East and South America are among its top target overseas sales destinations.

In China, the company faces fierce competition as consumers increasingly turn to brands like BYD to drive electric vehicles.

Chery also marks the latest trophy listing for Hong Kong, where Bloomberg Intelligence forecasts IPO proceeds to surge to more than $26 billion this year. 

Though the debut went on as planned, the company scrapped its listing ceremony at the Hong Kong stock exchange after Super Typhoon Ragasa brought the city to a standstill the previous day.

One thing that stood out about Chery’s offering was the absence of Wall Street banks among its arrangers. China International Capital Corp., Huatai Securities Co., GF Securities Co. and Citic Securities Co. were overall coordinators of the IPO.