Exclusive | Glassmaker for iPhone delays IPO to third quarter as pipeline builds up amid jostling for capital
Biel Crystal Manufactory, which produces the glass screen used in two of every three iPhones in circulation, will list its shares in Hong Kong in the third quarter
Biel Crystal Manufactory, the biggest producer of touch-sensitive smartphone screens, will postpone its US$1.5 billion initial public offer to the third quarter, as more companies jostle for investors’ capital amid a build-up in deals pipeline, according to a source close to the IPO.
The Hong Kong-based company hasn’t yet submitted applications to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the source told the South China Morning Post, making a second-quarter listing unlikely.
Biel was considering a US$1.5 billion offer, according to an earlier report in the IFR.
The delay underscores the build-up of fundraising activity in Hong Kong, after the city’s exchange operator and regulator announced the biggest overhaul in their listing rules in decades to attract technology and biotechnology start-ups to raise capital. Dozens of potential companies had been making inquiries about potentially listing in the city, exchange officials had said.
Biel isn’t the only company juggling a fundraising schedule.
Ping An Insurance Group too has planned to list a few of its subsidiaries on the stock market this year. Lufax or Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange, a major online wealth management platform, is considering postponing its Hong Kong listing plan, said another source familiar with the matter. Lufax had originally planned for an IPO in April, which would value it at US$60 billion, making it the largest listing by a fintech company in Hong Kong.