China's Anjoy Foods eyes Southeast Asia and Europe after Hong Kong listing
Liang Chen, board secretary of the Fujian-based company, told the Post that proceeds from the share sale would bolster its competitiveness in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, where hotpot has been flourishing. He spoke ahead of the company's Hong Kong bookbuilding, which kicks off on Wednesday.
'Southeast Asia is a fast-growing market where not a single established brand [of frozen food] can be found,' he said. 'We believe it is a place for us to repeat our success after two decades of development in China.'
The company was expected to raise as much as US$600 million by floating 59.5 million shares, which was based on its Shanghai closing price of 76.38 yuan (US$10.64) on Tuesday.
A dual listing would raise Anjoy's international profile and was an opportunity to propel its drive to go global, Liang said. Anjoy was seeking to become the latest mainland company to embrace an influx of international capital into Hong Kong as global investors sought alternatives to US assets.
'The timing is right for us now to list shares in Hong Kong,' Liang said. 'The H-share market is providing Chinese companies like us [with the] best fundraising platform as we expand our business abroad.'
According to market researcher Frost & Sullivan, hotpot catering businesses outside the mainland were projected to reach a market size of US$63.8 billion by 2028, which translated to annualised growth of 9.8 per cent for the five years starting in 2023.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
How closer mainland integration is lifting Hong Kong's residential market
One of the big themes in Asia's real estate industry this year is divergence. The average price of second-hand homes in Japan in the first quarter of 2025 rose at an annualised pace of 9.5 per cent, while in mainland China it contracted 7.5 per cent, according to Knight Frank's Global House Price Index. Advertisement In the commercial property market, investment activity in Australia was up 15 per cent in the first half of this year, while in Hong Kong it fell 59 per cent, according to MSCI data. In fact, one of the areas where divergences are the most pronounced is cross-border investment . While the proportion of cross-border capital in transaction volumes in the Asia-Pacific as a whole increased 13 per cent in the first half of 2025, its share in mainland China and Hong Kong fell to its lowest level in a decade. However, that poor performance comes at a time when Hong Kong and mainland China are becoming more closely integrated in one of the most important trends in Asia's economy and capital markets. Hong Kong's role as the dominant offshore dollar funding centre in Asia, coupled with the city's efforts to attract top talent and become a leading education hub , has accentuated its appeal to mainland companies and consumers. While the economic consequences of closer integration are most apparent in Hong Kong's financial markets – the surge in listings by mainland firms has propelled the city to the top of the global rankings for initial public offerings – the impact is increasingly evident in the ailing property sector, particularly the residential market. The Centa-City Leading Index, a gauge of second-hand home values , has been flat since the start of this year after a nearly 30 per cent decline since the 2021 peak. Not only have house prices stabilised – a feat in itself in Hong Kong's depressed real estate market – there is a decent chance they could be in positive territory for the year as a whole. Advertisement The combination of easing supply pressures, stronger demand, the unexpectedly sharp fall in interbank rates and a 'positive carry', as the effective mortgage rate drops below the rental yield, has improved the outlook for the sales market. Morgan Stanley says the government's decision last year to scrap cooling measures gives Hong Kong an edge over Singapore, where non-resident buyers must pay a staggering 60 per cent tax on any residential purchase.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong police arrest couple over HK$52.9 million bottled water contract fraud
Hong Kong police have arrested a married couple suspected of defrauding the government in connection with a HK$52.9 million (US$6.8 million) contract to supply drinking water to civil service offices. Advertisement Kung Hing-fun, the senior superintendent of the Commercial Crime Bureau of Police, said on Monday that the man, 61, and woman, 57, were arrested the previous day. Kung added that the married couple were the owners of a company that had secured a 36-month water deal, and that a mainland Chinese man was still at large. The Post has learned the company in question is called Xin Ding Xin Co. Ltd. She also said that the deal stipulated supplying bottled water to certain government offices, but the product was sourced from a third-party supplier in Dongguan rather than a Guangzhou-based company as specified in the contract. The company mentioned in the contract was named Robust, the Post learned. Wong Chun-yue, the bureau's chief superintendent, said the Guangzhou firm learned from the news that it was selected as the contract supplier, adding that the company which won the contract only asked once about water quality and had no further communication. Advertisement 'We believe the suspects used the Guangzhou company's water quality documents to meet tender requirements,' Wong said.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong police arrest couple for fraud in HK$52.9 million water procurement scandal
Hong Kong police have arrested a married couple suspected of defrauding the government in connection with a HK$52.9 million (US$6.8 million) contract to supply drinking water to civil service offices. Advertisement Kung Hing-fun, the senior superintendent of the Commercial Crime Bureau of Police, said on Monday that the man, 61, and woman, 57, were arrested the previous day. Kung added that the married couple were the owners of a company that had secured a 36-month water deal, and that a mainland Chinese man was still at large. The Post has learned the company in question is called Xin Ding Xin Co. Ltd. She also said that the deal stipulated supplying bottled water to certain government offices, but the product was sourced from a third-party supplier in Dongguan rather than a Guangzhou-based company as specified in the contract. The company mentioned in the contract was named Robust, the Post learned. Wong Chun-yue, the bureau's chief superintendent, said the Guangzhou firm learned from the news that it was selected as the contract supplier, adding that the company which won the contract only asked once about water quality and had no further communication. Advertisement 'We believe the suspects used the Guangzhou company's water quality documents to meet tender requirements,' Wong said.
