Pet ownership has surged as a lifestyle choice among increasingly affluent Chinese in the last two decades, fueling early investor enthusiasm about the sector’s big potential. But the reality has been far less to bark about, with most pet-oriented businesses offering up options that often leave investors in the financial doghouse.
One of those is veterinary leader New Ruipeng, whose recent struggles included a failed attempt at a U.S. listing a couple of years ago. Now, Ruipeng’s biggest rival, Ringpai Veterinary Hospital Management Holdings Co. Ltd., is hoping to find its own home in the financial markets with its filing this month for an IPO in the hot Hong Kong market.
Ringpai founder Li Shoujun is certainly qualified for the job, graduating from Inner Mongolia Agricultural University in 1988 and earning a PhD in preventive veterinary medicine from China Agricultural University in 2005. He worked at Tianjin Fuyuan Food from 1988 to 1997, before striking out on his own between 1998 and 2001 to establish Ruipu (Tianjin) Biological Pharmaceutical and Ruipu (Baoding) Biological Pharmaceutical.