Anjoy Foods Group, mainland China’s largest producer of frozen hotpot ingredients, said it plans to expand in overseas markets like Europe and Southeast Asia after it lists in Hong Kong.
Liang Chen, board secretary of the Fujian-based company, told the Post that proceeds from the share sale would bolster its competitiveness in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, where hotpot has been flourishing. He spoke ahead of the company’s Hong Kong bookbuilding, which kicks off on Wednesday.
“Southeast Asia is a fast-growing market where not a single established brand [of frozen food] can be found,” he said. “We believe it is a place for us to repeat our success after two decades of development in China.”
The company was expected to raise as much as US$600 million by floating 59.5 million shares, which was based on its Shanghai closing price of 76.38 yuan (US$10.64) on Tuesday.
“The timing is right for us now to list shares in Hong Kong,” Liang said. “The H-share market is providing Chinese companies like us [with the] best fundraising platform as we expand our business abroad.”
According to market researcher Frost & Sullivan, hotpot catering businesses outside the mainland were projected to reach a market size of US$63.8 billion by 2028, which translated to annualised growth of 9.8 per cent for the five years starting in 2023.
