Shares of Chery, China’s top car exporter, soar in Hong Kong debut

HONG KONG - Chery Automobile, China’s biggest car exporter, rose in its Hong Kong trading debut after raising HK$9.1 billion (S$1.5 billion) in an initial public offering to help power its overseas expansion ambition. 

The shares climbed as much as 14 per cent to HK$34.98 on Sept 25. It was up 9.3 per cent at 10.07am, giving it a market capitalisation of about US$25 billion (S$32.2 billion), and making it bigger than Geely Automobile Holdings but smaller than Great Wall Motor in terms of valuation.

Chery is the latest Chinese company to capitalise on Hong Kong’s popularity as a listing destination, where proceeds have soared to a four-year high.

More billion-dollar debuts are on the way, with Zijin Gold International planning for its shares to start trading next week in the city after a US$3.2 billion IPO, the world’s biggest deal of its kind since May.

“There should be demand from investors looking to get exposure to China’s auto exports potential, particularly into emerging markets where Chery has been very successful,” said Mr Eugene Hsiao, head of China equity strategy at Macquarie Capital. 

A gauge tracking global automaking stocks has gained 12 per cent in 2025, with Chinese shares leading the gains.  

Chery, which assembles Jaguars and Land Rovers in China, said it plans to plough the proceeds towards research and development, overseas expansion and factory upgrades.

It delivered 1.14 million vehicles to foreign markets in 2024, or 40 per cent of its total. Rivals including BYD and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology have also been pushing for sales overseas, where cars tend to fetch higher profit margins than at home. 

Chery has remained China’s top exporting brand every year since 2003, according to Frost & Sullivan.

Its line-up has a high proportion of fuel-powered vehicles, with relatively affordable pricing, making them well-suited to emerging markets. Russia, the Middle East and South America are among its top target overseas sales destinations.

In China, the company faces fierce competition as consumers increasingly turn to brands like BYD to drive electric vehicles.

Chery also marks the latest trophy listing for Hong Kong, where Bloomberg Intelligence forecasts IPO proceeds to surge to more than US$26 billion in 2025.

Though the debut went on as planned, the company scrapped its listing ceremony at the Hong Kong stock exchange after Super Typhoon Ragasa brought the city to a standstill the previous day.

One thing that stood out about Chery’s offering was the absence of Wall Street banks among its arrangers. China International Capital, Huatai Securities, GF Securities and Citic Securities were overall coordinators of the IPO. BLOOMBERG