Just a day after announcing its latest earnings, OneConnect Financial Technology Co. Ltd. (OCFT.US) has filed for a second listing in Hong Kong, aiming at broadening its investor base and boosting its share liquidity. The move would make it the latest among a growing list of its Chinese peers pursuing second listings as a hedge in case the U.S. regulator forces Chinese companies to delist from Wall Street.
OneConnect would make a “listing by introduction” that isn’t something one sees in the U.S. Such low-key listings allow companies to become publicly traded without issuing new shares or raising new funds.
OneConnect considered both the Asian financial hub and New York for its 2019 IPO, but ended up choosing the latter, reportedly to get a higher valuation. A successful dual listing in Hong Kong would be the first by a New York-listed Chinese fintech company, adding OneConnect to the ranks of non-internet Chinese companies like Tesla rival Xpeng (XPEV.US/9868.HK), which also recently completed a Hong Kong listing to complement its current New York listing.