The sign of Mixue Bingcheng is seen at its shop in Shanghai, China August 10, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song
中国的新茶饮连锁店正在加速攻占中国一线城市和下沉市场的街头巷尾、百货商场。在资本市场，它们之间的争速则在另一个“战场”展开：港交所。
2024年的第一个工作日，门店数量均位列中国前五的蜜雪冰城、古茗分别向港交所递交了招股书，前者募资额预期在5-10亿美元之间，后者则在3-5亿美元区间。
这是继奈雪的茶、茶百道之后，最新两家启动赴港上市的中国新茶饮龙头品牌。奈雪已在2021年完成上市，募资超过6.5亿美元；茶百道则已过聆讯。
此外，"尚有6家暂未公开的茶饮企业也在准备上市过程中"，竞天公诚律师事务所餐饮服务相关律师团队告诉ALB。
成为强势管线
“部分此前计划申请A股的餐饮企业，同样已经开始转战港股市场，正在申请过程中。餐饮类企业对港交所来说，足以构成较强的pipeline，且持续新增不同细分赛道——尤其是茶饮赛道的餐饮企业。”竞天公诚团队说。
该团队参与了上述四个茶饮项目，以及迄今市场上近80%的餐饮类上市项目。他们指出，内地餐饮企业赴港上市其实“历史悠久”，尤其2020-2021期间，密集上市了九毛九、百胜中国、奈雪的茶、海伦斯等企业。
“结合过往餐饮类企业在港股市场的稳定表现，尤其是百胜中国、海底捞、九毛九、海伦斯、奈雪的茶等成功发行，且市值符合公司及投资人预期，大量餐饮企业选择赴港上市，已披露的申请中还包括了绿茶集团、捞王、七欣天、乡村基、杨国福、上井等。”他们说。
1月17日，来自安徽的连锁中餐厅小菜园成为了最新一家在香港递交招股书的内地餐饮企业。
多重原因促成
最近两年餐饮企业呈现“扎堆”赴港上市的现象，也和企业背后投资人的投资周期推动有关，以及“餐饮市场，尤其是茶饮市场的格局、市场教育、企业发展等多方面因素达到瓶颈及质变期，故迎来了前往香港上市的热潮”，竞天公诚团队说。
另一个原因则是受到中国证监会将餐饮行业归类为A股红黄灯项下的企业，即非鼓励类的影响，“实践中存在间接建议餐饮企业停止赴A股上市，转为香港、美国上市或北交所上市的情形”。
较强的实力
目前，正在申请过程中的内地餐饮类企业都在努力完成香港上市。伴随此类企业尝试香港资本市场的心态愈发积极，竞天公诚团队坦言，启动上市项目时，餐饮企业更倾向于寻找具备足够多同行业经验的中国律师。
对于律所来说，餐饮也是值得期待的板块。“餐饮类企业，尤其是加盟业态的企业，其净利润较高，故在过往项目中能够给到符合市场标准的律师费用。”竞天公诚团队告诉ALB。
Tea time at the HKEX: F&B companies the bright spot in HK’s gloomy IPO scene
The first working day of 2024 brought news to perk up lawyers, bankers and others dismayed by Hong Kong’s falling IPO fortunes. Mixue Bingcheng and Guming, both among China's top five tea beverage chains in terms of store count, submitted listing prospectuses to the HKEX, with the former expecting to raise between $500 million to $1 billion, and the latter between $300 million to $500 million.
And they’re not all that’s brewing in the SAR’s listing horizon. Another tea chain, ChaPanda (also known as Chabaidao) submitted its prospectus in December. These brands hope to follow in the footsteps of Nayuki Holdings, which raised $650 million back in 2021. And “six other tea beverage companies are also in the process of preparing for IPOs,” according to the food & beverage (F&B) services legal team at Jingtian & Gongcheng, which declined to name the companies.
Over the last few years, China's tea beverage chains have been rapidly taking over the streets and malls in both first-tier cities and emerging urban centres. And with fundraising now on their minds, the new battlefield is the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).
HONG KONG ON THE MENU
The Jingtian & Gongcheng team is advising on all four of the above IPOs. It notes a recent trend of mainland F&B companies shelving their initial plans for A-share listings, and instead looking south to Hong Kong.
“Given the stable performance of F&B enterprises in the Hong Kong stock market, and their market capitalization meeting company and investor expectations, a large number of B&F enterprises have chosen to list in Hong Kong,” the team says. It notes that 2020-2021 was a particulary busy period in this regard. with listings from the likes of Jiumaojiu Group, Yum China, Nayuki Holdings, and bistro chain Helens.
“Upcoming listings include Hangzhou cuisine chain Green Tea Group, hotpot chain Laowang, QixinTian and Yang Guofu, Chinese fast food chain Country Style Cooking, Japanese-style food chain Kamii and more,” it adds. “For HKEX, F&B enterprises, especially those in the tea beverage sector, constitute a strong and continuously growing pipeline,” it adds.
And the pipeline keeps growing. On Jan. 17, the Anhui-based chain restaurant Xiaocaiyuan became the latest mainland F&B enterprise to submit a prospectus in Hong Kong.
KEY INGREDIENTS
So what’s driving this recent trend of F&B enterprises queuing up to list in Hong Kong? One main reason, according to the Jingtian & Gongcheng team, is the investment strategies of their investors, who are looking to exit. Also, for tea beverages in particular, the industry is in a transformative phase, with their leaders seeking to raise funds to evolve and expand.
Then there is the influence of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which recently classified the F&B industry as a non-encouraged category under the A-share red and yellow light system, indirectly suggesting that these enterprises halt their A-share listings and turn to Hong Kong, the U.S., or the Beijing Stock Exchange instead.
Currently, mainland F&B enterprises applying for listings are actively working towards completing their Hong Kong IPOs. Even as these enterprises increasingly embrace the Hong Kong capital market, they tend to prefer Chinese lawyers with ample experience in the same industry, according to the Jingtian & Gongcheng team.
And unsurprisingly, the F&B sector remains a promising one for lawyers. “F&B enterprises, especially those with a franchise model, have higher net profits, and thus they are able to afford market-standard legal fees,” the Jingtian & Gongcheng team tells ALB.
