Chinese digital retail service provider Dmall completes CSRC registration for Hong Kong IPO

Dmall, a digital retail services provider backed by Tencent Holdings and Lenovo Group, has completed its registration with China’s securities regulator for its overseas initial public offering (IPO), paving the way for a stock sale in Hong Kong.

Dmall is expected to raise about US$500 million from the IPO, according to people familiar with the matter.

Shenzhen-based Dmall is the latest mainland-based company to take advantage of a pickup in demand for new shares on Asia’s fourth-largest stock market after a rebound in stocks and a pledge by the CSRC to encourage overseas listings by Chinese firms. A rally sent the benchmark Hang Seng Index into a bull market in May before the momentum faded recently.

Dmall entered Hong Kong in 2020, relying on DFI Retail Group, formerly known as Dairy Farm Holdings, as its major client. It helped install self-service machines that many local shoppers now use at DFI’s Wellcome and Market Place supermarket chains. Last year, the company signed an agreement to set up its headquarters in the city’s Cyberport business park.

The IPO will help the company to expand its presence beyond Asia, with revenue from individual markets such as Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia and Singapore already exceeding 100 million yuan (US$13.75 million) a year. Dmall was in talks with some large retailers in Europe, according to Spurrell.

Dmall posted a loss of 655 million yuan last year, with Wumart and its affiliates accounting for most of the company’s revenue, according to its prospectus.

Six companies are due to start trading in Hong Kong this week, the busiest since December, in a sign of a recovery in fundraising activities.