Clifford Chance advises on Kuaishou Technology’s US$5.4 billion Hong Kong IPO and Listing

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised the joint sponsors and underwriters including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and China Renaissance Securities on short video social platform Kuaishou Technology’s US$5.4 billion initial public offering and listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The IPO is Hong Kong’s largest technology IPO in history and the world’s largest by a technology company since Uber Technologies’ in 2019. The retail tranche was more than 1,200 times oversubscribed, making it the most oversubscribed deal in Hong Kong.

Kuaishou is among the most widely-used social platforms in China, providing short video sharing, live streaming, e-commerce, online marketing and other services through various apps. It is the third primary listing in Hong Kong with a weighted voting rights structure.

Partners Christine Xu and Fang Liu co-led on the deal, with support from a team which includes senior associates Janet Tang, Queenie Tong, Erxin Lu and Qingqing Bu and associates Jason Liu, Tao Yang and Dichun Duan.

Christine said, “We are honoured to advise on Kuaishou’s landmark debut listing, the largest in Hong Kong in two years. In addition to reaffirming the attractiveness of the city’s capital markets to high-growth tech companies, this IPO highlights our team’s expertise as a regional tech powerhouse advising the most innovative and complex technology companies.”

Clifford Chance has advised on many of the most significant IPOs in Hong Kong, including JD.com’s US$3.87 billion IPO and secondary listing and Nongfu Spring’s US$1.08 billion IPO.