balato8co| Hong Kong Stock Exchange GEM, big news!

YesterdayBalato8coAfter Uber Holdings disclosed that it had passed the hearingBalato8coThe IPO prospectus, which is the first company to log on to the gem through a listing hearing three and a half years after the GEM reform of the HKEx. At present, there are two other queuing companies that have submitted applications for GEM listing, namely, Yuanxian Technology Holdings and Guangdong Jixin State-controlled testing.

On January 1 this year, the reform measures for the listing of GEM in Hong Kong came into effect: re-launch the simplified turntable mechanism, eligible GEM issuers switch to the motherboard, do not need to reappoint sponsors, etc.; add the listing standard of "market capitalization / earnings / R & D testing" to support high-growth enterprises engaged in R & D activities; shorten the lock-up period for controlling shareholders to 12 months after listing; and abolish the mandatory publication of quarterly results.

Restart after three and a half years

Yesterday, Uber Holdings, a semiconductor company, disclosed its prospectus after the hearing, the first company to pass a listing hearing three and a half years after the GEM reform on the gem of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company first submitted its prospectus on April 28, 2022 and has updated it five times since then.

Prior to this, Hong Kong launched the GEM reform to support the listing and financing of high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises, so the listing rules of the entrepreneurial sector outside the main board were reformed. Before the reform, the last IPO company listed on the gem of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was Yucheng Logistics. It has been nearly three and a half years since it passed the hearing on December 23, 2020 and listed on January 13, 2021.

Uber Holdings, a semiconductor industry chain company headquartered in Hong Kong, is engaged in the manufacturing of semiconductor transmission media for precision manufacturing of engineering plastic castings. The main customers are IC assembly and packaging testing company and IDM company. The top five customers have cooperated with each other for more than 10 years, and the sales market covers Southeast Asia, Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong and so on.

From the perspective of profit, the net profit (adjusted) of Uber Holdings in the past three years was HK $26.4 million, HK $21.8 million and HK $5.04 million respectively. Due to the global economic downturn in 2023, the overall market size of the semiconductor industry decreased by 8%.Balato8co.1%, sales of the company's related products have slowed down, and the mainland industry has adopted a low-price competitive strategy, which is relatively low compared with overseas prices.

Hong Kong GEM Reform takes effect

On January 1 this year, the reform measures for the listing of GEM in Hong Kong came into effect. At present, in addition to the fact that Uber Holdings has passed the hearing, there are also two companies that have submitted applications for GEM listing: Yuanshi Technology Holdings and Guangdong Jixin National Control Inspection, which submitted their applications on December 8, 2023 and March 27, 2024, respectively.

The listing rules after GEM reform have re-introduced the simplified transfer mechanism, and eligible GEM issuers have transferred to the motherboard without the need for re-appointment of sponsors, etc.; added the listing standard of "market capitalization / earnings / R & D testing" to support high-growth enterprises engaged in R & D activities; shortened the lock-up period for controlling shareholders to 12 months after listing; abolished the mandatory publication of quarterly results, and other continuing responsibilities are consistent with those of the motherboard issuer.

Prior to this, the reform of the listing rules on the main board of the HKEx has largely opened up IPO fundraising channels for the return of US-listed stocks and the listing of biotechnology companies, as well as specialty technology companies. It is understood that at present, New economy companies account for more than 1/3 of the total market value of Hong Kong shares, accounting for more than 40 per cent of turnover, compared with less than 20 per cent five years ago.

The reform of the gem in Hong Kong has only begun in recent years. Compared with the multi-level capital market in mainland China, the Hong Kong stock market only distinguishes between the gem and the main board, and the GEM reform once again provides the gem enterprises with the convenience of changing the gem.

According to Wind, there are a total of 206companies listed on the gem of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2015, raising an average of HK $69.78 million, of which only three are semiconductor and semiconductor manufacturing equipment companies, with more coming from the construction industry, tourism services, consumer durables and clothing.

Hong Kong stock IPO market is expected to rebound

Not long ago, the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced five policies on Hong Kong's capital market, including supporting mainland industry leading enterprises to list in Hong Kong, broadening the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect mechanism, helping Hong Kong consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial center, and so on. Hong Kong's IPO market is expected to rebound.

According to Wind statistics, there were only 72 IPO companies listed in Hong Kong in 2023, a 10-year low. Since the beginning of this year, 16 IPO companies have been listed in Hong Kong, and so far, 101 have submitted applications for IPO and are waiting for listing, including Midea and Cao Cao.

Among the IPO companies awaiting hearing, there are 13 companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries, as well as 13 companies in the health care equipment and services industry, confirming the statement that "Hong Kong has become the largest listing centre for biotechnology companies in Asia".

Editor: Wang Yunpeng