Wilmar's Kuok rides cooking oil dominance to a record China IPO
KUOK Khoon Hong has pulled off a remarkable second act. The billionaire sold shares of his China business in the biggest ever initial public offering on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, thanks to the most popular cooking oil brand in the country.
Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings' share price more than doubled in its first-day on the ChiNext board after the IPO raised 13.9 billion yuan (S$2.8 billion). Its namesake cooking oil with a Golden Dragon Fish logo has been a staple of Chinese kitchens for decades and fuelled demand 3,499 times the amount of shares offered to retail investors online.
After starting production in 1991 from the mainland's first packed oil production line, the unit of Mr Kuok's Wilmar International now has 40 per cent of a Chinese edible oil market that consumes almost 40 million tonnes annually. The IPO came just three years after the country opened doors for foreign firms to invest in the oilseeds crushing sector, allow…
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Companies & Markets
Syngenta to withdraw China IPO application on weak market: sources
Chinese firms’ fundraisings in limbo as IPOs scrutinised at home and abroad
China’s Huawei continues rebound with strongest earnings growth since 2019
Hatten Land gets notice of default, letter of demand for RM14 million, appoints financial adviser
ComfortDelGro wins contracts to run buses in Manchester
Sam Bankman-Fried, at sentencing, acknowledges FTX customers have suffered