China Tourism Group Duty Free raised about $2.1 billion in its Hong Kong offering, in the year’s biggest listing in the Asian financial hub, reports Bloomberg. The world’s largest retailer for travelers sold 102.8 million shares at $20.14 each, it said in an exchange filing Friday. The price represents a discount of about 27.5% to Thursday’s close in Shanghai. The shares are set to start trading in Hong Kong on Aug. 25.
The offering injects activity into a slow market for initial public offerings in Hong Kong, where 2022 has seen just $5.1 billion raised this year, slumping 86% compared with the same period in 2021. It’s a trend also seen globally amid rising interest rates and high inflation. Prior to CTG Duty Free, the year’s largest listing in the city was Tianqi Lithium’s $1.7 billion share sale last month.
CTG Duty Free had suspended a potential $5 billion listing last December, joining a slew of companies that chose not to move ahead with deals amid a choppy market. The seller of tax-exempt goods such as tobacco, wine and perfumes to travelers considered reviving the listing plan to seek as much as $3 billion.
