Chinese carmaker Chery Automobile has raised gross proceeds of HK$9.145 billion (around $1.2 billion) through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, under the ticker 09973; the firm started trading on the exchange on September 25.
The final offer price was at the top end of HK$30.75 of the 297.4 million H shares, with 29.74 million offer in the Hong Kong and the rest internationally, according to a document submitted to the HKEX on September 24.
Chery’s listing is the largest IPO globally in the automobile sector in 2025 to date and the largest first-time IPO on the HKEX, excluding dual and secondary offerings, since November 2022.
Chery, which is headquartered in Wuhu in Anhui province, is the second-largest domestic passenger vehicle company in mainland China and the eleventh largest in the world, in terms of sales volume in 2024. It has been the China's leading exporter of passenger vehicle companies for 22 consecutive years since 2003; the firm makes many electric vehicles.
The joint sponsors, sponsor-overall coordinators, overall coordinators, joint global coordinators, joint bookrunners and joint lead managers on the deal were CICC, Huatai Securities and GF Securities (Hong Kong).
The overall coordinator, joint global coordinator, joint bookrunner and joint lead manager was CITIC Securities, while the joint bookrunners and joint lead managers were BOCI, China Merchants Bank International, Agricultural Bank of China International and Futu Securities.
Linklaters acted as the Hong Kong and US counsel for the joint sponsors and other underwriters on the global offering and listing of H shares of Chery.
The Linklaters team was led by Christine Xu, partner and head of Greater China ECM, and Oliver Zhong, special senior adviser and new economy team leader, Greater China.
Zhong said: "Chery is a unique Chinese carmaker with a global outlook, spearheading innovation with a strong engineering culture. It has been a privilege to assist in its successful listing on HKEX.”
The IPO comes after confirmation that Berkshire Hathaway had sold the firm's remaining stake in Chery's rival BYD by the end of March 2025 after 17 years of investment in the Chinese electric carmaker. BYD has been cutting prices in mainland China amid a fierce price war.
