Following in the footsteps of J&T, Cainiao's IPO is on the horizon.
Cainiao, having submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on September 26, 2023, is reportedly making consistent strides in its listing process, sources reveal, with the earliest projection for completing the IPO by the end of March 2024.
Previously, Alibaba Group's subsidiary, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Limited ("Cainiao"), officially filed for an IPO with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on September 26, 2023.
It is expected to raise approximately USD 1 billion in Hong Kong, with Citigroup, CITIC Securities, and JPMorgan as joint sponsors. Cainiao thus becomes the first business group to formally enter the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process after Alibaba's "1+6+N" initiative, aiming to become the world's leading smart logistics stock.
Cainiao is a leading domestic e-commerce logistics service provider and the largest reverse logistics service provider in China. Operating the world's largest Cainiao station network, it processes over 80 million parcels daily. In international logistics, Cainiao shipped over 1.5 billion cross-border e-commerce parcels in the 2023 fiscal year, serving more than 100,000 businesses and brands engaged in cross-border trade. It holds the global first position in both outbound and inbound logistics for Chinese export and import e-commerce. The revolutionary solutions introduced by Cainiao have significantly reduced the universal logistics duration from China to major countries globally from 30 to 60 days to as short as 10 days.
Financially, in the 2023 fiscal year, Cainiao recorded a total revenue of CNY 77.8 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 21% over the past three years. Its profitability has also been consistently strengthening, with adjusted EBITDA exceeding CNY 2.8 billion in the 2023 fiscal year.
During the second-quarter financial results conference call for the 2024 fiscal year, Alibaba Group Chairman, Eric Tseng, stated, "We have full confidence in the business fundamentals of Cainiao."
Bloomberg, in its latest report, refers to Cainiao's listing as one of the "hottest IPO plans in Asia for 2024." Bloomberg also predicts that Asian IPOs may see a boost in 2024, aligning with KPMG's earlier release of the 2024 IPO Market Outlook, which anticipates 90 companies listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising a total of HKD 100 billion.