
Photo: VCG
Leading baby formula maker China Feihe Ltd. is making a renewed attempt to list its shares in Hong Kong, two years after it shelved the plan because of merger issues.
Feihe filed for an initial public offering with the Hong Kong stock exchange without setting the offer size and pricing, the bourse said Wednesday. Bloomberg reported in March that Feihe could raise as much as $1 billion in the Hong Kong offering.
Feihe’s revenue expanded three-fold since its last IPO attempt in 2017, boosted by fast growth in its infant formula business. Feihe achieved higher profit margins by promoting higher-end products while spending heavily to expand its sales network in smaller cities, analysts said.
The company booked 10.4 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) of revenue in 2018, a 76.5% rise from a year earlier. Net profit rose 93% to 2.2 billion yuan, according to the preliminary prospectus. Feihe said it set a sales target of 15 billion yuan this year.
Feihe is now the largest player in China’s milk powder market with 15.6% in 2018, according to consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
Feihe floated in the U.S. in 2003 and was privatized in 2013 for the Hong Kong listing that was later suspended.
Related: Leading Dairy Yili Eyes 2 Billion Global Customers by 2020

