(Yicai) Nov. 27 -- SF Holding’s shares closed unchanged after debuting in Hong Kong today, with China’s largest express delivery firm having raised HKD5.7 billion (USD732.5 million) from the secondary listing, making it the city’s second-biggest share offering this year.

The 170 million new shares [HKG: 6936] reached an intraday high of HKD35.50 (USD4.56), but fell back to finish at HKD34.30, their initial price. SF’s Shenzhen-listed stock [SHE: 002352] fell 0.5 percent to CNY41.86 (USD5.77).

SF’s listing is the latest in a series of secondary offerings by Chinese firms in Hong Kong this year, as they seek to tap a wider investor base. Midea Group, the world’s largest maker of home appliances, raised HKD30.7 billion (USD3.9 billion) there in September, making it Hong Kong’s largest floatation in over three years.

According to SF’s prospectus, 45 percent of the funds raised will be used to grow its international business and strengthen transborder logistics; 35 percent will be used to upgrade its logistics network and services in China; 10 percent will be allocated for research and development of advanced technologies and digital solutions; and the rest will go to general corporate purposes.

The listing attracted 10 cornerstone investors, who subscribed for about USD205 million of shares in total, including USD25 million from Oaktree Capital Management of the US, USD20 million from insurance giant China Pacific Insurance Group, and USD20 million from Green Better, a unit of Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi.

Based on its annual revenue for last year, Shenzhen-based SF is the largest logistics company in Asia and the fourth-largest globally, behind UPS, DHL, and FedEx, per data from Frost & Sullivan.

In the first three quarters of this year, its net profit jumped 22 percent year on year to CNY7.6 billion (USD1 billion). Revenue rose 9 percent to CNY206.9 billion (USD28.53 billion).

Last month, SF announced a cash dividend of CNY6.7 billion (USD923.9 million), including an interim payments of CNY1.9 billion (USD262.0 million) and a one-time distribution of CNY4.8 billion (USD661.9 million), as a special reward to investors before the Hong Kong listing.

Editor: Tom Litting