Huifu to become first listed third-party firm in China

Huifu Payment Limited will be listed in Hong Kong on June 15 after an initial public offering to raise about HK$1.6 billion (US$254 million), the Shanghai-based company said on Friday.

Huifu, which taps into digital payment opportunities in China's “cashless society," will become the country's first professional third-party firm to be listed on the capital market.

The firm will begin trading there from June 15, and it plans to sell about 225 million shares with a price range of between 6.5 to 8.5 Hong Kong dollars. At the average price, the company will raise about HK$1.6 billion through the IPO, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 

Huifu now offers payment and Fintech services to 5.8 million micro and small merchants, 1,500 Internet finance providers and 4,000 companies in various industries across China.

China’s payment market volume will hit 470 trillion yuan by 2021, tripling its 2017 size, according to Frost and Sullivan, a US-based researcher.

Although it has huge market potential, Huifu has to face fierce competition with payment giants Alibaba and Tencent. The IPO will help the firm to improve its competitive ability in the market, analysts said.

In 2017, Huifu’s revenue reached 1.7 billion yuan (US$265 million), 58 percent growth year-on-year. Net profit reached 118.7 million yuan, growth of 12 percent from a year ago.