
China's Full Truck Alliance eyes Hong Kong listing, strong 2025 growth, says executive
HONG KONG, March 10 (Reuters) - Full Truck Alliance (FTA) (YMM.N), opens new tab, China's "Uber for trucks", could revisit plans for a second listing in Hong Kong in the wake of a rebound in investor sentiment and an escalation in Sino-U.S. geopolitical tensions, a company executive said.
The company, also known as Manbang in China, had initially planned a dual primary listing in Hong Kong in 2022 due to stricter audit requirements for U.S.-listed Chinese companies.
But it scrapped the plan in December that year after the U.S. audit watchdog said it gained full access to inspect and investigate firms in China for the first time ever. The development removed the risk of about 200 Chinese companies being kicked off U.S. stock exchanges.
"Regarding a (second) listing in Hong Kong, whether it was then or now, the most important consideration for us has always been to hedge against U.S. risks," said Chief Financial Officer Simon Cai. These included the various political risks that have emerged since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.
"This is our primary objective. Beyond this, if there are any additional benefits, such as improvements in valuation and liquidity, these would be bonus points," Cai told Reuters in an interview.
FTA, backed by big-name investors including SoftBank's Vision Fund and Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), opens new tab, went public in New York in 2021 and is among the few U.S.-listed Chinese companies that have not yet pursued a second listing in the Asian financial hub.
Stock prices of Chinese tech firms listed in Hong Kong have rallied in recent months, boosting their liquidity and valuation, as investors' appetite for tech stocks has been whetted by hopes of Beijing's support for private firms and optimism about China's artificial intelligence sector.
The Hang Seng Tech Index (.HSTECH), opens new tab has risen over 30% so far this year.
"Against this broader backdrop, we will actively re-examine and consider a listing in Hong Kong again. However, no specific plans have been decided yet," Cai added.
Formed in 2017 out of a merger between two digital freight platforms Yunmanman and Huochebang, FTA runs a mobile app that connects truck drivers with people who need to ship items within China. The company reported nearly 200 million fulfilled orders on its platform in 2024, a 24% year-on-year increase.
FTA on Wednesday posted strong earnings for 2024, with annual total revenue rising by 33% year-on-year to 11.2 billion yuan ($1.55 billion) and net income up by 40% to 3.1 billion yuan. The growth was primarily driven by increasing digital adoption, penetration rate and order volume.
Cai expects another strong performance for the company in 2025, tipping record revenue of over 12 billion yuan with an order growth of 15%-20%.
Recent positive shifts in Beijing's policy environment for the private sector have also restored global investors' confidence in Chinese stocks including FTA, said Cai.
"We've clearly observed significant capital inflows (into FTA) over the past quarter," he added, noting that major investors such as Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management, BlackRock and Fidelity have increased positions in the company in recent months.
FTA is boosting its investment in AI and plans to deploy a nationwide AI-led system to increase the order fulfillment rate by the end of the year, Cai said.
In 2023, FTA spun off its cold chain business, which is close to finalizing its latest fundraising round, raising about 200 million yuan at a post-investment valuation of over 30 billion yuan, Cai said.
The unit which yielded over 100 million yuan in net profit last year plans to expand and potentially go public either in Hong Kong or mainland China, he added.
"Small-cap stocks don't get much attention in Hong Kong. We would prefer a market cap of at least $1 billion or even bigger at the time of its listing," Cai said. He estimated the earliest the unit could go public would be in 2026 or 2027.
($1 = 7.2405 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
TikTok creating more than 500 new British jobs as UK users top 30 million
The Chinese-owned social media firm said its UK workforce would expand to 3,000 this year as part of its 'deep commitment' to the UK. It will also open a new 135,000sq ft office in London's Barbican, which is set to open early next year. The group already has its UK headquarters in Farringdon, London, which were opened in 2022. TikTok unveiled the plans as it said it now has more than 30 million regular users in the UK each month, which makes the market is biggest user community in Europe. Adam Presser, director of TikTok UK and global head of operations and trust and safety, said: 'Whether through direct investment in jobs and innovation, or the wider economic contribution from millions of British businesses on TikTok, we're pleased to be increasing our investment and presence here in the UK, an important hub for TikTok.' But it comes after Cabinet minister Pete Kyle signalled he was looking at measures to restrict the amount of time children spend on their phones, including through a possible 10pm curfew. Mr Kyle was asked on Sunday morning whether he would look at limiting the time children spend on social media to two hours per app after the Sunday People and Mirror reported the measure was being considered by ministers. The Online Safety Act has passed into law, and from this year will require tech platforms to follow new Ofcom-issued codes of practice to keep users safe online, particularly children. Hefty fines and site blockages are among the penalties for those caught breaking the rules, but many critics have argued the approach gives tech firms too much scope to regulate themselves. TikTok's Mr Presser said that, as well as its UK expansion plans, the group also invests 'significantly' in safety. He said: 'What underpins our continued growth is our deep commitment to safety and to creating an enjoyable and secure digital space to sustainably support creators, entrepreneurs and the wider economy, which is why we also invest significantly in safety.' TikTok first launched its UK operations in 2018 and is financially incorporated in Britain. The group was fined 530 million euro (£446 million) by the Irish data protection watchdog last month for breaching EU privacy rules around transferring user data to China. The video-sharing app was also sanctioned for not being transparent with users about where personal data was being sent and ordered the platform to comply with data protection rules within six months. TikTok said it would appeal against the decision. The social media giant, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, has been under scrutiny from regulators around the world over how it handles personal data, and is also facing a ban in the United States over its China links, which the US government has said is a national security issue.


Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
US wholesale inventories in April revised higher
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - U.S. wholesale inventories increased in April amid stockpiling of prescription medication in anticipation of tariffs from the Trump administration. Stocks at wholesalers rose 0.2% instead of being unchanged, as estimated last month, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected last month's estimate would be unrevised. Inventories, a key part of gross domestic product, climbed 0.3% in March. They advanced 2.3% on a year-over-year basis in April. Wholesale stocks of prescription medication surged 1.3% in April. There were also increases in apparel, motor vehicle, groceries and professional equipment inventories. President Donald Trump has said he would impose tariffs on imports of pharmaceutical products that have long been spared from past trade disputes due to the potential for harm to patients. Apart from drugmakers, businesses front-loaded imports in the first quarter, seeking to avoid Trump's sweeping duties on foreign goods, resulting in a large trade deficit that subtracted a record 4.90 percentage points from GDP. The front-running faded in April, leading to a record decline in imports and the overall trade deficit. While the contraction in the deficit at face value suggests trade could significantly add to gross domestic product in the second quarter, economists say some of the boost could be offset by low inventories. Inventory accumulation increased at a rate of $163.0 billion in the first quarter. The economy contracted at a 0.2% annualized rate in the January-March period, the first GDP decline in three years. It grew at a 2.4% pace in the fourth quarter. Sales at wholesalers edged up 0.1% in April after jumping 0.8% in March. At April's sales pace it would take wholesalers 1.30 months to clear shelves, unchanged from March.


North Wales Chronicle
7 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
TikTok creating more than 500 new British jobs as UK users top 30 million
The Chinese-owned social media firm said its UK workforce would expand to 3,000 this year as part of its 'deep commitment' to the UK. It will also open a new 135,000sq ft office in London's Barbican, which is set to open early next year. The group already has its UK headquarters in Farringdon, London, which were opened in 2022. TikTok unveiled the plans as it said it now has more than 30 million regular users in the UK each month, which makes the market is biggest user community in Europe. Adam Presser, director of TikTok UK and global head of operations and trust and safety, said: 'Whether through direct investment in jobs and innovation, or the wider economic contribution from millions of British businesses on TikTok, we're pleased to be increasing our investment and presence here in the UK, an important hub for TikTok.' But it comes after Cabinet minister Pete Kyle signalled he was looking at measures to restrict the amount of time children spend on their phones, including through a possible 10pm curfew. Mr Kyle was asked on Sunday morning whether he would look at limiting the time children spend on social media to two hours per app after the Sunday People and Mirror reported the measure was being considered by ministers. The Online Safety Act has passed into law, and from this year will require tech platforms to follow new Ofcom-issued codes of practice to keep users safe online, particularly children. Hefty fines and site blockages are among the penalties for those caught breaking the rules, but many critics have argued the approach gives tech firms too much scope to regulate themselves. TikTok's Mr Presser said that, as well as its UK expansion plans, the group also invests 'significantly' in safety. He said: 'What underpins our continued growth is our deep commitment to safety and to creating an enjoyable and secure digital space to sustainably support creators, entrepreneurs and the wider economy, which is why we also invest significantly in safety.' TikTok first launched its UK operations in 2018 and is financially incorporated in Britain. The group was fined 530 million euro (£446 million) by the Irish data protection watchdog last month for breaching EU privacy rules around transferring user data to China. The video-sharing app was also sanctioned for not being transparent with users about where personal data was being sent and ordered the platform to comply with data protection rules within six months. TikTok said it would appeal against the decision. The social media giant, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, has been under scrutiny from regulators around the world over how it handles personal data, and is also facing a ban in the United States over its China links, which the US government has said is a national security issue.