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J&T Express claims second highest Hong Kong IPO of the year

On Friday, J&T Global Express Ltd, a courier firm, began trading in Hong Kong, marking the city's second-largest IPO of 2023 and boosting founder Li "Jet" Jie's net worth to $1.5B.

  • Trading at Par: J&T shares traded at the listing price of HK$12 at 12:39 p.m. local time. Despite slight fluctuations, the stocks remained stable.

  • The Fundraiser: The company, which delivers for online stores like Shein and Pinduoduo, raised $500M in the IPO.

  • Turbulent Times: A challenging period for IPOs in Hong Kong, a global hub for new share sales, saw J&T's debut performance muted. This listing is the city's largest since ZJLD Group Inc.'s $676M listing in April.

  • Birth and Rise: Li, formerly of Chinese smartphone maker OPPO, started J&T in Jakarta in 2015. Its rapid growth across Southeast Asia and subsequently in China since 2020, has been noteworthy. As of 2022, J&T held more than 20% of the express delivery industry’s market share in Southeast Asia.

  • Volume and Capacity: The company handled thrice the number of packages of its nearest competitor and over half of J&T's $7.3B revenue in 2022 came from China, surpassing Southeast Asia as its largest region.

  • Challenges on the Horizon: Despite its rapid expansion, J&T faces challenges. It recorded $1.5B in adjusted losses last year and remains profitable only in Southeast Asia. The company's low-cost strategy may be difficult to sustain in the mid-to-long term. Its stock price was also deemed "overvalued" by analysts.

  • Moving Forward: J&T aims to conquer new markets. It commenced operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil, and Egypt in 2022, bringing its global presence to 13 countries. l ambitions.

J&T attracted a group of high-profile investors, including Tencent Holdings Ltd., SF Express, Sequoia Capital, and Li's former employer, OPPO. Additionally, a British Virgin Islands vehicle tied to Oppo's founder, Chen "Tony" Mingyong, owns 4.2% of J&T. Chen’s wife, Liang Xiaojing, controls a separate 3.7% stake.