Multiple Failed IPO Attempts, YanPlace Made Another Push for Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Recently, YanPlace submitted a listing application on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with CICC (中金公司) and GF Capital (Hong Kong) Limited (广发融资(香港)) as its joint sponsors.

According to Frost & Sullivan's report, China has always been the main market and largest consumer of cubilose. From 2020 to 2022, based on retail sales, YanPlace will have a global market share of 4.1% in 2022, becoming the world's largest cubilose company for three consecutive years. The company's revenue CAGR was 15.3%, higher than the industry average of 11.6%, and it was in a leading position among the top five cubilose brands during the same period.

In fact, this is not the first time YanPlace has attempted to go public this time. When hitting the A-share IPO before, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued 57 questions in a row, involving the equity transfer of YanPlace, false publicity, and food safety.

According to the latest report by Frost & Sullivan, YanPlace ranks first in the cubilose market in China in terms of the number of cubilose franchise stores and the number of imports certified by the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine. However, competition in this market remains fierce. In addition to strong competition from cubilose brands such as Xiaoxiandun (小仙炖), PT SWIFT (正典燕窝), Yananju (燕安居), Yanfu (燕府), and HK JEBN (楼上燕窝), established pharmaceutical companies such as Tongrentang (同仁堂) and Dong'e Ejiao (东阿阿胶) have also entered the field and launched their own cubilose. Among them, Xiaoxiandun, founded in 2014, has successfully completed five rounds of financing. By focusing on the young consumer market and the comprehensive layout of online and offline sales channels, it has become the fastest-growing cubilose brand in China for three consecutive years, which formed a fierce competition pattern.

According to YanPlace's disclosure in its prospectus, there are two main reasons why the company chose to go public in Hong Kong. First of all, there are uncertainties in the approval process of the A-share market. Secondly, the Hong Kong stock listing will provide YanPlace with an international platform.

In the past ten years, YanPlace has experienced many attempts to hit the listing, such as switching from Hong Kong stocks to A shares and choosing to return to Hong Kong stocks again, but all failed. Now, in the face of an increasingly competitive industry environment, YanPlace is facing major challenges. However, there are still uncertainties about whether it can successfully win the title of "No. 1 cubilose".