(Yicai) June 3 -- SF Holding has received approval from China’s securities regulator to proceed with a secondary listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Should it be successful, SF Holding will become the first Chinese express delivery firm to float on both onshore and offshore bourses.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the planned issuance of up to 625 million common stocks on the Hong Kong stock exchange, Shenzhen-based SF Holding said yesterday.  Should it fail to list within 12 months and still intends to go public, the firm will submit additional materials to the regulator, it added.

SF Holding first filed to go public in Hong Kong in August last year. It said at the time that it planned to list within 18 months. Goldman Sachs, Huatai International and J.P. Morgan are underwriting the listing.

SF Holding, which was founded in 1993 by Wang Wei and quickly went national, plans to expand its logistics network and improve its logistics infrastructure, it said in the previous prospectus. It also intends to extend its footprint in emerging and quick-growing sectors such as science and technology, healthcare, and financial services.

The listing will help SF Holding extend its global services and to provide greater coverage in the international markets where it already has a presence, such as in Southeast Asia, and at the same time boost the company’s influence in markets with high growth potential, the prospectus said.

SH Holding, which started to go global from 2010, will seek out strategic acquisitions, investments, and partnerships to make it a world leader in logistics, it added. However, no investment targets have been identified yet nor any investment deals signed.

Net profit jumped over 33 percent to CNY8.2 billion (USD1.1 billion) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 from the previous year, according to the company's latest earnings report released in March. Revenue declined 3.4 percent to CNY258.4 billion (USD35.8 billion).

SF Holding’s share price [SHE:002352] was trading up 0.2 percent at CNY36.93 (USD5.10) as of 2.30 p.m.

Editor: Kim Taylor