Restaurant raises $64.49m in HK IPO

Xiao Nan Guo Restaurant Holdings Ltd raised HK$500 million ($64.49 million) in a Hong Kong public offering on Wednesday, in a new round of public listings by the Chinese restaurant industry.

The IPO of the Shanghai restaurant chain was oversubscribed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Xiao Nan Guo, which planned to get listed late last year, saw its previous offering shelved due to the sluggish stock market. The company made the decision to postpone its listing after consulting the sale's sponsors.

Another Chinese restaurant, South Beauty, is also reported to be seeking an IPO on the Hong Kong stock market this month. The company has been seeking the opportunity to list to expand its business at home and abroad in recent years.

Headquartered in Beijing, the company has developed a network with more than 60 restaurants in locations across the country including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Suzhou, Tianjin and Shenyang.

Observers say that as industry leaders such as Xiao Nan Guo and South Beauty try to list in Hong Kong, other domestic restaurants may follow the move, which could help to establish modern managing mechanisms and boost the business scale of the companies.

baochang@chinadaily.com.cn