Home appliances maker targets $900m valuation from public float of 400m shares

Qingdao Haier Co Ltd announced on Friday it is moving ahead with plans to list on the China Europe International Exchange's D-Shares Market in Frankfurt, making Haier, which is one of the world's largest home appliances makers, the first Chinese company with such a plan.

According to Haier's announcement, it will sell up to 400 million euro-denominated D-Shares.

The Shanghai-listed company's price closed at 15.7 yuan ($2.27) per share on Monday, down 4.96 percent on the day, meaning a listing of 400 million shares will be valued at more than $900 million.

Haier released its offshore listing plan in April. The China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the listing in mid-June. The offering is scheduled to begin around Oct 15.

Chen Han, co-CEO of CEINEX, said Haier's listing is "an important step for CEINEX on its way to establishing its platform as a link between European and Chinese financial markets".

Jointly established by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Deutsche Borse Group and the China Financial Futures Exchange, CEINEX is the first dedicated trading venue for China and renminbi-related investment products outside the Chinese mainland. It started operating in late November 2015.

It allows international investors to invest in Chinese blue-chip companies, while Chinese companies have access to a channel to diversify their overseas financing, Chen said.

He said Chinese companies looking for opportunities to issue D-Shares must have clear globalization strategies, good records in the market, business operations in Europe and implemented dividend policies.

In March, Chinese infrastructure construction developer Chengdu Xingcheng Investment Group Co Ltd listed its first eurobond for 500 million euros ($574 million) via CEINEX.

Globalization has been an important strategy for Haier. It acquired New Zealand's home appliances giant Fisher& Paykel last year and General Electric Appliances in 2016. It entered the European market in 2010 and has committed 1 billion euros worth to raising "brand equity and awareness over the next four years", especially in the premium market, said Yannick Fierling, CEO of Haier Europe, at a news conference in early September. The company will open 11 new European offices during the same period, he said.

Haier's global sales revenue grew by 20 percent in 2017 to top 241.9 billion yuan, making the company the largest home appliances maker by sales revenue for nine consecutive years. Its profit surged by 41 percent year-on-year in 2017.

Covering over 160 countries and regions in the world, Haier now conducts nearly 50 percent of its business in the overseas markets.