(Yicai Global) Jan. 13 -- Pagoda Industrial Group, China’s largest retailer of fruits, said it expects to raise a net HKD366 million (USD46.9 million) from its initial public offering in Hong Kong, after pricing the shares at HKD5.60 (72 US cents) each.

Pagoda will issue about 78.9 million shares globally. The 7.9 million to be issued in Hong Kong were oversubscribed 12.2 times, while the international tranche was oversubscribed 2.8 times, the Shenzhen-based firm said in a statement today. The stock will debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Jan. 16

Forty-five percent of the proceeds, or about HKD165 million, will go toward improving the company’s operations and supply chain system, it said.

About 25 percent will be used to upgrade and reform its core information technology system and related infrastructure, while about 25 percent will go to repay some bank loans. The rest will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Pagoda was founded by Yu Huiyong and his wife Xu Yanlin in 2001 and opened its first store in 2002. Yu is the actual controller, with a direct stake of 24.32 percent. The couple and the firm’s employee shareholding platform are the majority shareholders, owning a collective 46.63 percent.

According to its IPO prospectus, Pagoda has 5,643 brick-and-mortar stores in China, of which 5,624 are franchisees and 19 are self-operated outlets.

Net profit soared 369 percent to CNY230 million (USD34.3 million) in 2021 on a 16 percent increase in revenue to CNY10.3 billion (USD1.5 billion). In the first half of last year, revenue tallied CNY5.9 billion and net profit came in at about CNY194 million.

Editor: Peter Thomas