Tencent, Fidelity International, and Temasek are planning to invest in the Hong Kong IPO of Chinese snack retailer Busy Ming Group, according to Bloomberg, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The deal could raise up to USD 500 million, adding to a recent wave of listings by China-based companies seeking to tap investor demand ahead of the Lunar New Year.
The three firms are expected to act as cornerstone investors in the offering, and Busy Ming could begin taking investor orders as soon as today, although discussions are ongoing and details may still change.
The planned listing comes as Hong Kong heads toward a record January for first-time share sales, driven by companies rushing to go public before the Lunar New Year holiday in February. About USD 4.3 billion has been raised through new listings in the city so far this month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, signaling a pickup in dealmaking after a prolonged slump.
Busy Ming, also known as Mingming Henmang, has emerged as one of China’s largest discount snack retailers, operating more than 19,000 outlets nationwide focused on low-priced snacks and beverages. Based in Hunan, the company filed confidentially for a Hong Kong listing on April 28 last year, following months of market speculation that began in 2023, when it hired a new CFO in a move often seen as a prelude to an IPO.
The business traces its origins to two regional snack chains: Lingshi Henmang, founded in Changsha in 2017, and Zhao Yiming Snacks, launched in Jiangxi in 2019. Busy Ming was formed through the merger of the two in 2023. Since then, the group has expanded rapidly across all 28 provinces and every county-level city in China, with its yellow-and-red storefronts becoming a familiar sight in lower-tier markets.
That expansion has been accompanied by strong sales growth. Busy Ming operated 14,394 stores at the end of 2024, expanded to an estimated 16,783 outlets by mid-2025, and reached 19,517 stores in the nine months ended September 30, 2025, according to its latest disclosures. Over the same period, retail sales rose from about RMB 55.5 billion (USD 7.8 billion) in 2024 to roughly RMB 66.1 billion (USD 9.3 billion) in the first nine months of 2025, exceeding the previous full-year total.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, Busy Ming reported revenue of RMB 46.4 billion (USD 6.5 billion) and net profit of about RMB 1.8 billion (USD 252 million), reflecting the slim margins typical of discount retail amid continued store rollout.
Meanwhile, competition is intensifying as rivals also line up for the public markets. Wancheng Group, the parent of snack chain operator Haoxianglai, submitted its own Hong Kong listing application in September last year, setting up a race to become the first bulk snack retailer to list in the city.
Goldman Sachs and Huatai International are reported to be joint sponsors of Busy Ming’s IPO.