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Bike sharing firm Hello to scrap its US IPO following Chinese tech crackdown
- Hello, formerly known as Hellobike, is among a wave of Chinese technology companies that had filed to go public in the US this year
- China announced new rules and will review all foreign listings of tech firms with data of more than 1 million users
Hello Inc, the bike sharing firm backed by Ant Group, said on Wednesday that it would scrap its plans to go public in the United States, becoming the most high-profile offering to fall victim to a crackdown on technology firms by Chinese regulators.
The Shanghai-based company, also known as Hello TransTech, filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US in April, as part of a wave of Chinese technology firms that rushed to the markets in one of the biggest first-half fundraising pushes in a decade.
But, Chinese regulators announced a sweeping overhaul this month of regulations on how companies raise capital both domestically and overseas following the US$4.4 billion listing of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing at the end of June. The changes include reviews of any foreign listings by technology platforms that possess the data of at least 1 million users.
“The company is seeking [the] withdrawal of the registration statement because it no longer wishes to conduct a public offering of securities at this time,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
The new rules are set to threaten the public listings of dozens of Chinese companies who have filed for US IPOs, or are preparing for such offerings, with many already putting their plans on hold. Chinese firms raised a combined US$12.5 billion on American bourses in the first half of the year, with Didi’s IPO being the biggest offering by a Chinese firm in the US since 2014.
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Thousands of bicycles abandoned in China as bike sharing reaches saturation
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Chinese social media and lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, e-commerce platform Meicai, medical data solutions provider LinkDoc Technology and fitness app Keep are among the companies that have shelved their IPO plans recently.
Hello, formerly known as Hellobike, is one of the biggest bike sharing services in China following a series of mergers in the industry. It offers bike sharing, carpooling services and e-scooter rentals. The company recorded gross transaction value – a measure of total dollar value of rides booked on its various services – of 13 billion yuan (US$2 billion) in 2020.
Its shareholders include Ant, Youon Technology and GGV Capital, according to its prospectus.
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Ant had its own planned dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong scrapped by regulators in November, which was followed by a series of anti-monopoly inquiries into China’s technology industry.
The crackdown has spooked investors on both sides of the Pacific, with stocks slumping in Hong Kong and in China this week on regulatory fears.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Bike-sharing firm Hello says goodbye to US share sale
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