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Going Public: IPOs

Last week, Chinese snack company Weilong Delicious submitted its application for an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The deal is cosponsored by UBS, Morgan Stanley, and CICC.

A leader in China’s snack food sector, the company’s revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of 22.4% from 2018 to 2020, with annual turnover reaching RMB 4.1 billion (USD 643 million) in 2020. In a fragmented industry where the top five players make up only 10.7% of the market, Weilong Delicious stands out with a leading 5.7%. The company is thought to be valued at around RMB 70 billion (USD 11 billion) which would be ahead of rival snack brands Three Squirrels, Chacha Food, and Bestore.

Startups on Our Watchlist

Edge Medical (精锋医疗)

Medical device company Edge Medical raised USD 200 million in a Series C financing round led by Boyu Capital, Temasek, and Sequoia Capital China. Founded in Shenzhen in 2017, the company specializes in the design, development, and commercialization of single-port surgical robots.

The company’s minimally invasive surgical robots are progressing through the evaluation pipeline and were approved to begin clinical trials in China in April. Edge Medical Robotics’ main appeal to healthcare providers is the affordability of its solutions. Its surgical robots cost significantly less than those of competitors like American firm Intuitive Surgical, which sells its products for as much as RMB 15 million (USD 2.4 million) per unit.

KrASIA News Picks

When Facebook rebranded as Meta last month, it marked a significant moment for metaverse technologies and applications more broadly, ushering the concept into the mainstream. In China, a host of tech companies are already competing to carve out their place within these immersive and interactive online spaces.

That long-term potential has attracted investors seeking short-term gains. Metaverse concept stocks surged by more than 30% on average in the past month, according to an index compiled by local financial media. But the problem is many of these firms are eager to brand themselves as metaverse companies to attract investors, even if their actual business tells a different story.

Last week, Baidu also released a metaverse environment called Xirang, but emphasized that metaverse technology was still in its infancy and there is a long way to go.