Checking Out Or Checking In? Jin Jiang Can't Decide
Three years after privatizing its Hong Kong-listed shares, storied hotelier Jin Jiang has rolled out plans to re-list on the city's stock exchange
Key Takeaways:
Jin Jiang has applied to list in Hong Kong, just three years after withdrawing from the market
The company's profit tumbled over 80% in the first quarter as Chinese travelers reined in their spending
The opening chapter of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," one of China's four great classical novels, says the world operates in cycles of long periods of division, followed by reunification, before more division.
That same rule applies in the capital market these days to Jin Jiang Capital Co. Ltd. The company, one of China's three largest hoteliers, checked out of the Hong Kong stock market three years ago with its privatization, believing its shares were undervalued. But now its 45%-owned company, the similarly named Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Co. Ltd. (600754.SH), is saying it plans to make a second listing in Hong Kong and has hired KPMG as its auditor, according to a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange earlier this month.
Jin Jiang is one of China's most storied hotel brands, with a portfolio that includes some of Shanghai's most famous properties, such as its namesake art deco-style Jin Jiang Hotel, the Peace Hotel, formerly known as the Cathay Hotel, and the newer Park Hotel. When U.S. President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972, his U.S. delegation stayed at the Jin Jiang Hotel.
Jin Jiang International listed in Shanghai in 1994, just years after China launched its first stock exchanges. Its controlling shareholder, Jin Jiang Capital, went public in Hong Kong in 2006 and delisted in 2022. The new Hong Kong listing attempt for Jin Jiang International, just three years after Jin Jiang Capital's exit, has left investors wondering why the company is coming back for a second stay, and whether the new listing may be worth considering.
To figure out what's happening, we'll rewind to ...
