Yum China Applies for Dual Primary Listing in Hong Kong
Yum China Holdings, Inc. announced on August 15 that it has applied for a voluntary conversion of its secondary listing status to a primary listing status on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), which has acknowledged the application’s submission.
The effective date of the proposed conversion is expected to be October 24, 2022. The company’s common stock on the two exchanges will continue to be fully fungible, meaning investors can continue to choose to trade shares on either stock exchange.
Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, which operates major fast-food restaurant chains, said, “A dual primary listing would bring us even closer to our employees, customers and other stakeholders. This strategic move would further broaden our shareholder universe, increase liquidity and mitigate the risk of delisting from the NYSE. Looking ahead, we are excited about our long-term prospects in China and remain deeply committed to building a stronger, more resilient and innovative company.”
Yum China recently announced its 2022 second quarter and interim results. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, its total revenue in the second quarter was $2.13 billion and operating profit was $81 million. In the first half of the year, the firm added 382 net new stores, and the total number of restaurants reached 12,170.
SEE ALSO: SEC Adds 11 More China Concepts Stocks to “Pre-Delisting List”
In March 2022, after the United States included five companies including BeiGene and Yum China on its pre-delisting list for the first time, 159 Chinese companies have been included on the list. These include popular Chinese stocks such as Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, Bilibili, and Pinduoduo.
It is worth noting that recently, many Chinese concept stocks have made frequent moves in the capital market. On August 8, Alibaba chose to apply to the HKEx to change its secondary listing status on the main board of HKEx to a primary listing. On August 12, five major SOEs represented by PetroChina and Sinopec announced that they would delist from the New York Stock Exchange.
