By P.R. Venkat
Electric car maker XPeng Inc. has secured approval for an initial public offering from Hong Kong regulators, making it the latest U.S.-listed Chinese company looking toward its home market, a person familiar with the situation said.
XPeng, which is already listed on the NYSE stock exchange with a market capitalization of over US$30 billion, is planning to raise at least US$2 billion in the offering, the person said.
The Guangzhou-based company is planning to issue new shares in the offering, which will allow it have the U.S. as well as Hong Kong as its primary listing venue.
Xpeng’s plan to issue new shares is also aimed at tapping the Northbound stock connect market that will help it reach qualified investors in mainland China, the person said.
The company last year raised US$2.5 billion in an offering on the NYSE, joining a list of U.S.-listed Chinese peers such as NIO Inc. and Li Auto Inc.
Xpeng’s planned IPO is the latest in a string of multi-billion-dollar deals happening in Hong Kong, many of which involve Chinese technology startups or other companies catering to China’s increasingly affluent consumers.
Earlier this year, Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed Kuaishou Technology, which competes with ByteDance Ltd., raised US$5.4 billion in an IPO. Other companies include Baidu Inc., which is listed on the Nasdaq and raised nearly US$3.1 billion in its Hong Kong offering.
Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com
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