Full Truck Alliance listing plans announced despite Washington measures that could result in foreign companies being delisted from American stock exchanges
(AF) China’s Full Truck Alliance (FTA) – described as an Uber for lorries – said on Tuesday it is aiming for a valuation of over $20 billion in its New York initial public offering (IPO), in the second major US stock market listing for a Chinese company this year.
FTA is offering 82.5 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at a range between $17 and $19 per ADS. Each ADS represents 20 Class A ordinary shares. The top end of that range would mean the company could raise as much as $1.57 billion.
The move follows an IPO by Chinese vaping firm RLX Technology, which raised $1.4 billion in January.
The listing plans come despite the U.S. having introduced measures that could result in foreign companies being delisted from American stock exchanges within three years if they do not comply with the country’s auditing standards.
Dealmakers say Chinese firms carrying out US listings believe they will be able to comply with the rules and can also complete a secondary listing in Hong Kong or Shanghai within that time frame.
FORMED FROM MERGER
FTA, formed from a merger in 2017 between two digital freight platforms Yunmanman and Huochebang, is led by Peter Hui Zhang, formerly regional manager of the business-to-business unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
China’s market regulator has expanded its scrutiny of the country’s tech companies to the ride-hailing sector, including FTA.
In May, executives from 10 companies were summoned to a meeting with eight government departments, including the State Administration for Market Regulation, the transport ministry and the ministry of public security, according to state-run China Transport News.
Ride-hailing platforms were told to address several issues including overly high costs for drivers, opaque mechanisms for sharing profits and arbitrary changes of pricing.
RANDOM FEES
The freight platforms, including FTA, were rebuked for monopolising transport data, forcing down industry prices and charging additional member fees at random.
The summons is part of a campaign to rein in its internet giants and to enforce new rules to break up monopolies and ensure user data is protected.
In November, FTA was valued at nearly $12 billion after a $1.7 billion investment led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank’s Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital, Permira Capital and Fidelity. Tencent Holdings is another backer.
Morgan Stanley, CICC and Goldman Sachs are among the underwriters. The company will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol YMM.
With reporting by Reuters
ALSO SEE:
Alibaba to build fleet of self-drive trucks with logistics spin-off Cainiao
Uber promises 100% electric vehicles by 2040
Didi Chuxing teams up with WhatsApp to offer ride-hailing in Brazil
