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Ping An-backed fintech lender Lufax follows in footsteps of Nio and Tencent Music, applies for Hong Kong dual listing through introduction

  • Dual primary listings in Hong Kong and NYSE will broaden its investor base and enhance its share liquidity, firm says
  • Lufax shares in the US jumped 7.9 per cent overnight following the announcement

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A sign for Lufax is seen in this file photo from Beijing taken in December 2015. Lufax focuses on small businesses and is the second-largest non-traditional financial services provider in the sector, according to the company. Photo: Reuters
Iris Ouyang

Ping-An (Insurance) Group-backed Chinese online lender Lufax Holdings has applied to list in Hong Kong, joining other US-listed Chinese companies seeking a float closer to home despite the lower risk of delisting following progress on an auditing impasse between China and the United States.

The fintech company, which is based in Shanghai and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has filed to list through introduction, which means it will not be raising additional funds or issuing new shares, according to a filing made with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday.

“It is desirable and beneficial for the company to have dual primary listing status in both Hong Kong and the NYSE, so that the company can have ready access to these different equity markets when opportunity arises,” Lufax said in the filing. The listing will broaden its investor base and enhance its share liquidity, which is also in line with Lufax’s focus on operations in China for long-term growth and strategic development, it added.

Listings through introduction have increasingly found favour among US-listed Chinese firms seeking dual listings in Hong Kong. Lufax, for instance, is following in the footsteps of Nio, Spotify-backed Tencent Music and Futu Holdings, Hong Kong’s largest online retail broker, which sought listings in Hong Kong last year. Futu’s listing has been paused amid an ongoing investigation by Beijing.

Lufax focuses on small businesses in China and is the second-largest non-traditional financial services provider in the sector in terms of outstanding small business loans, according to the company. Ping An holds an about 41 per cent stake in Lufax through its subsidiaries An Ke Technology and Ping An Overseas Holdings.

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