Dongfeng Motor, a major state-owned Chinese carmaker, plans to privatise its Hong Kong-traded unit and list its electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary as part of a transition towards electrification.
The company – based in Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province – is offering shareholders HK$6.68 (US$0.85) per share, valuing the listed unit at HK$55.1 billion, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Friday.
The offer represents an 11.9 per cent premium over the closing price of HK$5.97 on August 8, before trading of the stock was suspended.
Meanwhile, the company’s premium EV brand, Voyah, will pursue a listing on the Hong Kong bourse. The move would allow Dongfeng Motor to “consolidate resources towards emerging industries to achieve a reconstitution of valuation”, the company said, adding that a Voyah listing would “broaden financing channels, enhance brand image, expand overseas presence and improve corporate governance”.
The asset restructuring follows a similar move by another major Chinese automaker less than a month earlier, highlighting the challenges faced by state-owned giants amid increasing competition from privately owned companies like BYD and Xiaomi.
In late July, Changan Automobile, which was recently spun off from state-owned China South Industries Group, began operating independently under the oversight of the central government. The carmaker, headquartered in the southwest municipality of Chongqing, said it would focus on smart vehicles, robotics and flying cars after the restructuring.
