Alibaba is a strategic investor and an important customer of FAR International
Recently, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange disclosed on its official website that FAR International Holdings Group Company Limited (2516: HK, referred to as "FAR International") has undergone a listing hearing and was officially listed on December 22. China Renaissance Securities Limited acted as its exclusive sponsor.
According to the prospectus, FAR International plans to globally issue 140 million shares, with 10% for public offering in Hong Kong and 90% for placement, with an additional 15% overallotment option.
The net proceeds from this IPO are approximately HKD 88.5 million (calculated based on the median price range). Among them, 81.9% of the net proceeds, together with internal resources, will be used for achieving larger scale and capacity, as well as expanding business areas. Approximately 18.0% is expected to be used for investment and upgrading of information technology systems, while around 0.1% is intended for operational and general corporate purposes.
FAR International was established in November 2022 and is a cross-border e-commerce logistics service provider and digital logistics solutions provider, mainly offering end-to-end cross-border logistics services. Currently, FAR International has over 30 self-operated branches nationwide, with a focus on major trade centers in China, such as the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
According to the company's official website, FAR International currently has a network of 1,100+ suppliers, serving over 220 countries and regions worldwide. It has delivered over 30 million packages cumulatively from 2020 to 2022.
In terms of performance, for the years 2020 to 2022 and the first half of 2023, FAR International's revenues were approximately CNY 1.512 billion, 1.354 billion, 1.252 billion, and 674 million, respectively. The net profit margins were approximately 3.5%, 2.7%, 2.1%, and 1.7%, respectively.
In the first half of 2023, end-to-end cross-border delivery accounted for 87.5% of the revenue. Among them, the revenue distribution for express delivery (3-5 days), standard delivery (6-9 days), and economy delivery (10 days or more) was 50.7%, 34.6%, and 2.2%, respectively.
In 2019, FAR International initiated the Alibaba International B2B Global General Cargo Warehouse Distribution Project and became one of the designated logistics service providers. In 2021, Alibaba China subscribed to 10% of the registered capital of Hangzhou Global Best for approximately CNY 139 million, becoming one of the shareholders of FAR International and a core logistics ecosystem partner of Alibaba International. In 2022, FAR International took the lead in launching the Alibaba Obligation Center Warehouse business. In 2023, it officially started cooperation with TEMU and launched a cross-border logistics project.
As of press time, FAR International closed at HKD 1.00 apiece, with a market capitalization of HKD 780 million.