On January 11, Trip.com replied to a query about a "second listing in Hong Kong:" no comment.
According to Reuters media IFR, Ctrip plans to be listed in Hong Kong for the second time in the first half of this year, raising at least USD 1 billion, with CICC, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase as underwriters.
Last year – on January 2, 2020 – according to a report by Peng Bo, the Hong Kong stock exchange was in discussions with Ctrip about a second listing in Hong Kong; the next day, Ctrip's contacts with several Chinese and foreign investment banks were reported on by the media.
After a year, the news of Ctrip's second listing in Hong Kong has spread out again, perhaps because of pressure around the company's performance against the backdrop of the pandemic.
On December 2, 2020, Ctrip group released its unaudited financial report for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2020, up to September 30.
According to GAAP, Ctrip's net revenue in the third quarter was CNY 5.5 billion (about USD 805 million), a year-on-year decrease of 48%; the net profit attributable to Ctrip's shareholders was CNY 1.6 billion (about USD 234 million), an increase of 102% compared with CNY 793 million in the same period of last year.
On September 25, 2020, Ctrip released its second-quarter financial report. According to the data, in the second quarter, the net revenue was CNY 3.2 billion (about USD 448 million), a year-on-year decrease of 64%; the net loss attributable to Ctrip shareholders was CNY 476 million (about USD 67 million), an increase of 18% over the net loss of CNY 403 million in the same period of last year.
The pandemic situation is the source of huge uncertainty for the tourism industry. Before long, the resurgence of the disease in China may cause some pressure on OTA platforms such as Ctrip and Qunar.