Aug 12 -Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto 2015.HK shares are set to open flat at HK$118 in the company's Hong Kong Stock Exchange debut on Thursday.
The company raised $1.52 billion by pricing its stock at HK$118 each in its dual primary listing in the city.
Li Auto became the second U.S.-traded Chinese EV maker to list in Hong Kong after larger rival XPeng Inc.raised $2.1 billion in a dual primary listing in the city in June. Mainland firms listed stateside have been seeking trading footholds in Hong Kong as a way to hedge against the risk of being delisted from American exchanges as well as broadening their investor base.
Li Auto raised about $1.3 billion in its U.S. initial public offering a year ago. Its shares have traded at more than three times the offer price of $11.50, riding on investor enthusiasm for EV makers. The stock closed at $31.35 on Thursday.
The carmaker plans to use the proceeds from the offering to fund the research and development, infrastructure expansion and marketing and promotion as well as general corporate purposes.
The company’s shares are set to start trading in Hong Kong on Aug. 12. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and China International Capital Corp. are joint sponsors for Li Auto’s Hong Kong listing, while UBS Group AG is the financial adviser.