Xiaomi set to float Chinese shares in early July

Xiaomi, which is seeking to raise up to US$10 billion in a Hong Kong stock offer, has filed for a listing on a mainland exchange and make its Chinese depository receipts (CDRs) available to domestic investors as early as July 9.

The world’s fourth-largest smartphone maker has applied to the mainland’s securities regulator to sell CDRs, a pilot programme that allows domestic investors to buy shares in overseas listed firms. The application will be posted on the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Friday afternoon, according to a source close to CSRC.

Xiaomi will be the first company to sell CDRs as Beijing hopes to attract China’s technology giants to list on Chinese bourses.

The Hong Kong debut of its initial public offering is likely to be on July 10, one day after the CDRs are listed, said another source familiar with the matter.

The company will price its IPO on June 28 as it embarks on a roadshow to persuade US and European institutional investors to value its entire business at no less than US$70 billion.

In the race to become the global destination of choice for global tech companies, Hong Kong’s securities regulator and market operator together pushed through a controversial reform of the city’s listing rules last year, allowing tech companies with multiple classes of stocks and biotech firms with no revenues to sell equity.

To catch up, China’s regulators introduced the CDRs pilot programme to attract overseas listed companies to sell their shares to mainland investors.