HONG KONG (Washington Insider Magazine) – Even though US-China relations and increased regulation remain high, the United States is about to have its first public offering from a Chinese business in months.
Meihua International Medical Technologies, a company that distributes medical equipment all over the world, is set to list on the Nasdaq in New York this week.
According to statistics produced for the New York Stock Exchange, the healthcare business is trying to raise $57.5 million.
While the sum is minor, it would be the first Chinese firm to list on the same platform since biotech startup LianBio raised $334 million in October, according to data source Dealogic.
Both China and the United States are home to LianBio. Since July, after Sentage Holdings, a Shanghai-based financial services business went public on the Nasdaq, American shareholders haven’t seen an IPO from a company predominantly located in China.
According to Dealogic, there was only one US IPO by a Chinese firm from August to January, compared to 20 in the same period a year before.
Following the ill-fated IPO of the country’s main ride-hailing operator, Didi, last summer, China has tightened regulations on companies wishing to list overseas.
According to CNN BUSINESS, the business went public in June in the largest US stock offering by a Chinese company since Alibaba’s launch in 2014, raising $4.4 billion.
China, however, started an investigation into Didi and halted new user registration on its app just two days later, dragging it into a broader crackdown on the nation’s tech industry.
Beijing’s move to target Didi was generally interpreted as retaliation for the company’s move to go public outside of China, and Didi became a poster child for the government’s efforts to reign in what it perceives as wayward Big Tech businesses.
Since then, China’s securities and data authorities have suggested new requirements for companies aiming to go public in other countries. Companies holding data on more than 1 million users, for example, might be required to get authorization from Chinese authorities before listing outside.
Didi said in December that it will delist from the NYSE and move its public stock offering to Hong Kong.
However, Meihua’s imminent listing in the U. S. might herald the start of a new wave of activity.
According to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a few companies with mostly Chinese operations have sought Wall Street IPOs in recent weeks.
