Greater Bay Area’s biggest property services firm Excellence Commercial said to seek up to U$400 million from Hong Kong IPO

Shenzhen-based billionaire Li Hua joins rival units of Sunac and China Evergrande with Hong Kong stock offering

Total revenue of property management services in Greater Bay Area is forecast to grow to 17.4 billion yuan by 2024, from 12.6 billion yuan in 2019

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Shenzhen, a major technology hub, is central to the plan to develop the bay area into a powerhouse of innovation and economic growth. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 4:47pm, 17 Aug 2020Updated: 11:16pm, 17 Aug 2020

Excellence Commercial Property and Facilities Management Group is looking to raise between US$300 million (HK$2.33 billion) and US$400 million from an initial public offering in Hong Kong, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The company, founded and controlled by billionaire Li Hua, is the largest provider of services to high-end commercial properties in the Greater Bay Area in terms of revenue, it claimed in a preliminary listing document filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange earlier in May.

Li is also the controlling shareholder and chairman of Shenzhen-based developer Excellence Group.

The proposed listing by Excellence Commercial comes amid a flurry of flotations by several other Chinese property management companies in Hong Kong this year.

So far at least 10 have submitted their IPO plans. Mainland developers Sunac China and China Evergrande have both disclosed plans about spinning off their property services arms for separate listings.

“Under the current market environment, investors particularly prefer sectors that have more transparency, strong cash flow and show fast growth. Property management service providers are definitely seen as countercyclical, and defensive against an economic downturn,” said the person.