Billionaire Richard Li’s FWD Group Holdings Ltd. rose in its Hong Kong buying and selling debut, reversing earlier declines, after an preliminary public providing that raised HK$3.5 billion ($442 million).
The insurer’s inventory climbed as a lot 2.1% to HK$38.80 on Monday, reversing a drop of as steep as 2.5%. It was at HK$38.40, up 1.1%, on the noon break.
The debut comes after the tycoon—son of famed Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-shing—tried to take the corporate public in New York in 2021, which was deserted after regulatory scrutiny. Subsequent efforts to listing at house in Hong Kong have been stalled as town’s IPO entered a protracted stoop.
Now, with Hong Kong’s fairness markets rebounding, Li is seizing a extra favorable window to boost capital for the crown jewel of his enterprise empire. Traders’ sentiment has been buoyed by a wave of multibillion-dollar offers, with IPOs and follow-on choices elevating $37.4 billion up to now in 2025—the best because the record-breaking yr of 2021 and a pointy leap from $5.1 billion throughout the identical interval final yr.
“It’s been a long journey,” FWD chief government officer Huynh Thanh Phong stated in a Bloomberg TV interview. “Hong Kong, as you can see, is back in a big way, and we’re extremely happy to be part of that comeback story post-COVID.”
Town’s inventory benchmark, the Grasp Seng Index, has risen about 20% for the yr. Insurers have been notably sizzling these days, with shares of AIA Group Ltd. and Prudential Plc every rising at the very least 35% since their April lows.
Richard Li, who based the corporate in 2013, owns a 66.5% stake in FWD by means of varied company entities. His stake in FWD accounts for two-thirds of his $6.1 billion web price on the IPO worth, in accordance with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The insurer plans to make use of the proceeds to scale back debt, help development and improve its digital capabilities.
