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China’s largest travel and duty free retail player has successfully applied to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to list in Hong Kong, according to the public filings. The IPO is expected to raise between $54.6 billion HKD ($7.04 billion) and $78 billion HKD ($10.05 billion).
China Duty Free Group (CDF Group) holds three of China’s 10 duty-free retailer licenses. Last year, its revenue reached 52.60 billion yuan ($8.23 billion), up about 8.2 percent year-on-year, while net profit reached 6.14 billion yuan ($960.58 million), up 32.57 percent.
Hainan province is its biggest revenue source with revenue of 30 billion yuan ($4.69 billion) last year, accounting for more than half CDF Group’s total revenue. The Group has eight duty-free stores on the island as well as the world’s largest duty-free commercial complex and has been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange since 2019.
CDF Group is also facing growing challenges as the number of duty-free retail players in China grows, analysts say. The IPO in Hong Kong opens up the possibility of international market expansion, or M&A activities.