By Doris Yu
Investing.com – Shares of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng fluctuated in its Hong Kong debut on Wednesday.
Xpeng Inc (HK:9868) (HKG: 9868) Hong Kong shares held steady at HK$163.6 ($21.06) by 11:50 PM ET (3:50 AM GMT), after its shares opened up 1.8% from their initial public offering (IPO) price.
The EV company raised $1.8 billion by selling 85 million shares at HK$165 apiece in its secondary listing in Hong Kong. Previously, it raised $1.5 billion in its U.S. IPO in August 2020.
Its Hong Kong debut comes as China’s regulator is tightening oversight of data security and overseas listings. Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, the Chinese version of Uber (NYSE:UBER), was removed from the app stores earlier this week just days after its U.S. IPO.
“China’s regulatory probe of Didi Chuxing may put tech-savvy automakers on alert that the gathering and analytics of vehicle operating data, which could become their next big source of profits, will fall under stricter government oversight,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Steve Man and Joanna Chen said in a note.
Xpeng is the first EV company to finish a so-called homecoming IPO. Apart from Xpeng, the other U.S.-listed Chinese EV makers, including Nio Inc Class A ADR (NYSE:NIO) and Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI), are also reportedly planning to go public in Hong Kong.
“As a China consumer brand, we want to have our customers ultimately be our shareholders as well, so coming to Hong Kong gives an opportunity to achieve that goal,” Xpeng President Brian Gu told Bloomberg. It also gives “us direct access to China-based investors, which are important for us in the long run,” he added.
XPeng is still loss-making but aims to break even by late 2023 or early 2024.