
Photo: VCG
Yet another Chinese tech firm is hoping to float its shares in the U.S., riding a wave of recent listings that are decidedly smaller than many mega-offerings seen over the last two years.
This time it’s a company called EHang, maker of futuristic-looking autonomous “air taxis” that are basically drones that can ferry people back and forth through the skies. The company was founded in 2014, and unveiled its first products a couple of years later.
EHang is hoping to raise a relatively modest $100 million from a planned share sale on the Nasdaq, according to its prospectus filed with the U.S. securities regulator late last week. It’s not too difficult to see why EHang isn’t setting its sights too high, as it’s still losing money in this emerging niche of the autonomous driving space.
The company lost about 37.7 million yuan ($5.4 million) in the first half of this year, which was 42% wider than its loss a year earlier. At the same time, its revenue actually shrank about 16% over the same period to about 32.4 million yuan — not exactly the greatest sign for such a startup.
EHang isn’t exactly alone in heading to the U.S. in a bid to list. About half a dozen companies have made similar moves over the last month, and many are also losing money and seeking relatively modest sums from investors. Online property market operator Fangdd, which is actually earning a profit, got a decidedly tepid reception in its trading debut on Friday. The stock traded mostly around its offer price of $13 during its first trading day, and ultimately closed unchanged.
Read the full story on Caixin Global soon.
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