Chinese shipowner and operator Seacon Shipping Group has launched its initial public offering in Hong Kong, looking to raise up to around $62m from the deal. The Qingdao-headquartered company is offering up to 125m shares, expected to be priced in the range of $0.41 to $0.49 per share.
The company said it expects to determine the price of the IPO on March 17 and share the results of the allocation on March 28. The shares should start trading on the stock exchange on March 29.
Seacon traces its roots back to 2012 when it launched its shipmanagement business in Hong Kong. In 2017, it entered the shipping services sector with the establishment of Seacon Enterprise in Singapore. It manages around 200 ships and controls more than 20 of them, mostly bulkers and oil and chemical tankers, with seven ships under construction.
The company said the majority of the net proceeds (77%) would be used to partially cover newbuild costs and expand the chartered-in fleet by up to 25 ships. Some 10% would be used to set up offices in Shanghai, Greece, the Philippines and Japan, and to expand current shipmanagement operations in Qingdao, Ningbo, and Fuzhou. The rest is intended to go towards digitalisation and general working capital.
Seacon attracted Huzhou Wuxing Tourism Development, Guodian Shipping, and Danube Bridge Shipping as cornerstone investors.
