(Yicai) July 1 -- SF Holding has applied for a secondary listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange on June 28, which could bag the express delivery firm as much as CNY20.6 billion (USD2.8 billion). Should it be successful, SF Holding will become the first Chinese courier company to float on both onshore and offshore bourses.

SF Express plans to issue up to 625.5 million common stocks on the Hong Kong bourse, the Shenzhen-based firm said on June 28, the same day it filed the application. Goldman Sachs, Huatai International and JPMorgan Chase, are underwriting the listing.

The proceeds will be used to extend SF Holding’s global services, optimize its Chinese network, develop advanced technologies and digital solutions, upgrade its supply chain and logistics services as well as implement Environment, Social and Governance initiatives, the prospectus said.

SF Holding first filed to go public in Hong Kong in August last year. But the application has since expired. The firm’s share price has been in freefall since then, slumping more than 20 percent.

The company might be in a rush to go public in Hong Kong as it is about to run out of cash, Yicai learned. SF Holding raised CNY33 billion (USD4.5 billion) when it floated in Shenzhen, but this has almost been exhausted. The firm’s debts more than tripled last year from 2018 to CNY118.2 billion (USD16.3 billion), and its asset-liability ratio widened to 53 percent from 48 percent.

It remains to be seen whether SF Holding will manage to raise the funds it expects from the Hong Kong listing. The firm’s stock price has lost 70 percent of its value since its peak in February 2021. The company is also facing stiff competition, putting pressure on growth.

Bank of China International lowered its 2024 net profit forecast for SF Holding to CNY10.1 billion (USD1.3 billion) from CNY11.1 billion on April 30, and Huachuang Securities also trimmed its forecast to CNY9.3 billion (USD1.2 billion) from CNY9.6 billion.

SF Holding’s share price [SHE:002353] closed down 1 percent today at CNY35.30 (USD4.80).

Editor: Kim Taylor