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China’s Anjoy Foods eyes Southeast Asia and Europe after Hong Kong listing

Anjoy Foods Group, mainland China’s largest producer of frozen hotpot ingredients, said it plans to expand in overseas markets like Europe and Southeast Asia after it lists in Hong Kong.

Liang Chen, board secretary of the Fujian-based company, told the Post that proceeds from the share sale would bolster its competitiveness in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, where hotpot has been flourishing. He spoke ahead of the company’s Hong Kong bookbuilding, which kicks off on Wednesday.

“Southeast Asia is a fast-growing market where not a single established brand [of frozen food] can be found,” he said. “We believe it is a place for us to repeat our success after two decades of development in China.”

The company was expected to raise as much as US$600 million by floating 59.5 million shares, which was based on its Shanghai closing price of 76.38 yuan (US$10.64) on Tuesday.

A dual listing would raise Anjoy’s international profile and was an opportunity to propel its drive to go global, Liang said. Anjoy was seeking to become the latest mainland company to embrace an influx of international capital into Hong Kong as global investors sought alternatives to US assets.

“The timing is right for us now to list shares in Hong Kong,” Liang said. “The H-share market is providing Chinese companies like us [with the] best fundraising platform as we expand our business abroad.”

According to market researcher Frost & Sullivan, hotpot catering businesses outside the mainland were projected to reach a market size of US$63.8 billion by 2028, which translated to annualised growth of 9.8 per cent for the five years starting in 2023.


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