Shares in Chinese carmaker Chery Automobile temporarily rose by up to 14 percent on their first day of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange before gains moderated. Chery is China’s largest car exporter and raised USD 1.2 billion from its initial public offering. It plans to use the money to support its overseas expansion, research and development of new models, and factory modernization, Bloomberg reported today.
Chery’s IPO ranks among Hong Kong’s biggest of 2025
Chery’s initial public offering (IPO) was the second largest in Hong Kong this year. It valued the company at USD 23 billion. Chery is another Chinese company that has decided to capitalize on Hong Kong’s popularity as a place to list shares. Revenues from offerings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange are the highest in four years this year. More billion-dollar debuts are in the pipeline. Bloomberg Intelligence predicts that proceeds from initial public offerings in Hong Kong will exceed $26 billion this year.
Chery manufactures its own brands, but also assembles Jaguar and Land Rover cars in China. Last year, the company delivered 1.14 million vehicles to foreign markets, which is about 40 percent of its total production. Automakers achieve higher profit margins abroad than in the domestic market.
Chery leads Chinese exports but faces domestic competition
According to Frost & Sullivan, Chery has been China’s leading export brand every year since 2003. Its range includes a high proportion of combustion engine cars at relatively affordable prices, which are in demand in emerging markets. Its main target markets include Russia, the Middle East, and South America, but the company has also been accelerating its expansion in Europe recently. However, it faces stiff competition in China as consumers increasingly turn to brands such as BYD, which manufacture electric cars.
What was interesting about Chery’s stock offering was that Wall Street banks were not among the organizers of the initial public offering. The main coordinators of the issue were the Chinese companies China International Capital, Huatai Securities, GF Securities, and Citic Securities.
Source: Reuters
