(Yicai Global) July 15 -- BAIC Motor’s shares surged over 19 percent in Hong Kong today after it emerged that the automaker plans a secondary listing in the Chinese mainland.

BAIC [HKG:1958] closed 3.2 percent higher at HKD3.25 (42 US cents). The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 0.8 percent.

The Beijing-based company plans to issue so-called A-shares, those traded in the mainland, according to a document posted on the website of China’s securities regulator. An unidentified BAIC official confirmed the news to the Shanghai Security News today, though he did not specify which bourse the firm intends to list on.

The Beijing branch of the China Securities Regulatory Commission released a tutoring report for BAIC’s secondary listing on July 13. According to the report, BAIC needs to hold a new shareholders’ meeting to authorize a new timeframe for its planned mainland listing as the previous period has expired.

BAIC raised USD1.4 billion from its initial public offering in Hong Kong in December 2014.

BAIC’s main businesses include its own brand, Beijing Hyundai Auto, Beijing Benz Automotive and Fujian Benz Automotive, according to its annual report. Profit at its own brand is declining, becoming a drag on the whole company, per the report.

The firm posted CNY177 billion (USD27.4 billion) in operating revenue last year, up around 0.9 percent from the previous year. But net profit plunged over 59 percent to CNY2 billion (USD310 million). Revenue increased mainly because of a rise in Beijing Benz’s earnings, the firm said. It grossed CNY169.7 billion in revenue last year, accounting for almost 96 percent of the firm’s total, and hitting a record high since BAIC listing in Hong Kong.

BAIC’s four business groups sold nearly 1.2 million vehicles last year, down 18 percent from 2019, and just half of its annual sales target. BAIC sold 82,000 own-brand passenger vehicles, down 51 percent, while Beijing Benz sold 611,000, making up more than half of the total. Beijing Hyundai Auto’s vehicles sales dropped 33 percent to 446,000 units.

Editor: Futura Costaglione