Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Xpeng Incorporated will soon be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) as part of the fast-expanding manufacturer’s global offering of shares to raise nearly $2 billion.

Xpeng has announced plans to float 4.25 million shares on the HKSE, with each share priced at not more than HK$180. The HKSE floating of shares in part of the manufacturer’s global offering of 85 million shares.
After the proposed listing of the shares, the EV maker’s Class A ordinary shares in Hong Kong will be convertible with its American Depositary Shares (ADS) that are presently listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The offering of the shares includes 95 per cent for institutional investors and 5 per cent for Hong Kong retail investors. The NYSE-listed Xpeng stock of the Chinese manufacturer has a market capitalization of around $33 billion.

The manufacturer made it clear that investors in the global offering would not be able to take delivery of American Depositary Shares listed on the NYSE. On the HKSE, Xpeng will be listed under the "9868" stock code. Initial supporters included Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, and UCWeb founder He Xiaopeng, who is now serving the company as its chairman. The list of main Chinese and global investors included Alibaba, Foxconn and IDG Capital.

Led by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) He Xiaopeng and headquartered in Chinese city of Guangzhou, Xpeng is trying to revolutionize the automobile industry by not only developing electric vehicles (EVs) but also smart-car technologies like autonomous or self-driving functions.

Xpeng sells its EVs mainly in China, the world’s largest car market, where it faces increasing competition from startups like Nio and Li Auto, as well as well-established foreign car makers like Tesla. It has yet to turn profitable and it has assured its investors that it will most probably break even by 2023 or 2024. Its revenues have been on the rise. In the first quarter of this year, its revenues jumped to 2.95 billion Yuan as deliveries of vehicles grew 483 per cent year-over-year.

The proposed listing of the Xpeng shares will be jointly sponsored by J.P. Morgan Securities and Merrill Lynch.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies like Xpeng are looking to list on the HKSE as a way to hedge against frequent tensions between China and the U.S. Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new rules imposing stricter auditing requirements on foreign firms listed in America.