 for its initial public offering in Hong Kong. The Beijing-based hotpot chain has outlets){kind=link}
Haidilao International Holding is on track to raise 7.3 billion Hong Kong dollars ($935 million; £711 million) for its initial public offering in Hong Kong.
The Beijing-based hotpot chain has outlets in Hong Kong, the US and Japan and may have a market valuation of as much as $12 billion, with shares going for around HK$17.80.
After the firm is listed, the group’s co-founder Zhang Yong will have a fortune of $8.3 billion.
In an interview with Forbes, Yong explained his fast pace expansion of opening a new restaurant every three days.
“Much of our history and customs can be learned through food,” he said. “It’s better to scale fast and be everywhere instead of having a single towering presence.”
New locations are set to open in London, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia.
The number of restaurants has grown from 112 at the beginning of 2015, to 273 in 2017. By halfway through 2018 it has expanded to 341 outlets and continues to grow.
“As of the latest practicable date, we owned and operated 363 restaurants, which comprised 332 restaurants [on mainland China], and 31 restaurants in Taiwan, Hong Kong and internationally in Singapore, South Korea, Japan and the United States,” said the group in a statement.
The retail portion of the group’s shares have been oversubscribed but it is still unsure if investors will remain long term.