NetEase picks banks to arrange Hong Kong secondary listing, joining Alibaba, JD.com in making a beeline for city’s stock exchange

NetEase has picked Credit Suisse and China International Capital Corporation on its secondary offering, according to people familiar with the matter

The company has made its confidential filing for a stock sale

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The NetEast Group’s head office at the Zhongguancun Software Park in Beijing on January 8, 2019. Photo:Shutterstock

Published: 4:38pm, 5 May 2020Updated: 4:38pm, 5 May 2020

NetEase has picked banks for its planned second listing in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter, joining other Chinese technology companies in tapping the city’s stock market for new funds.

The company is working with advisers including Credit Suisse Group AG and China International Capital Corporation (CICC) on the offering, which it has confidentially filed to the stock exchange, the people said. The share sale could happen as soon as the second half of this year, one of the people said. The Hangzhou-based online gaming and entertainment company, which currently trades on the Nasdaq, has a market value of about US$43 billion.

No final decision has been made on the details of the offering including size and timeline, the people said. Representatives for NetEase, Credit Suisse and CICC declined to comment.

NetEase was among the Chinese firms that had discussed secondary listings with Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited (HKEX) after Alibaba Group Holding raised US$13 billion in its 2019 secondary share sale, Bloomberg News reported in January. Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has also filed confidentially for a second listing in the financial hub, people familiar with the matter have said.

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Shares in Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing extended gains to as much as 2.9 per cent following the Bloomberg News report.