Chinese investment bank China Renaissance and Alibaba subsidiary Alipay have busy months ahead of them. In China Renaissance's case, it hopes to raise $377 million in its first public offering in Hong Kong.
China Renaissance is reportedly offering 85 million shares at HK$31.60 to HK $34.80 per piece.
China Renaissance became famous for its high-profile role as an adviser on a number of major mergers and acquisitions. Some of these, SCMP states, are technology companies such as Meituan, Dazhong Dianping, Didi, and Kuaidi.
The announcement is already attracting big investors, with Alipay of the Alibaba Group Holding reportedly investing around $50 million.
Snow Lake Capital, a known Asian investment manager, meanwhile, matched Alipay's investment, with $50 million.
LGT Group Foundation, another notable investor, is said to make an investment worth $25 million.
China Renaissance has somewhat been a long-time player in China's banking industry, founded in 2005 by a former Morgan Stanley banker, Bao Fan.
The bank prides itself on advising and investing in companies considered as 'start-ups.' Such an example, Financial Times pointed out, can be seen in its relationship with Chinese company Meituan Dianping, which released its own HK IPO to the tune of $4.2 billion recently.
Bao announced that it was a vision for future technologies as well as trends-which propelled the bank forward.
Bao, through China Renaissance, looked for ways to invest in these trends before it happened. While interested in the path these tech companies will forge, China Renaissance's main goal is to connect these startups to investors willing to back them. Other financial services the bank offered included advising on transactions like M&A, after-market work post-IPO posting, and equity underwriting that helps these startups transition from being private companies to becoming publicly traded.
Alipay, meanwhile, is operated by the Alibaba Group Holding's online payments arm, Ant Financial. When asked at what level of commitment China Renaissance will have with Ant Financial, China Renaissance managing director Xiang Wei could only comment that the investment was free-meaning there was nothing Ant Financial was expecting in return, or that the investment came with 'no strings attached.'
China Renaissance further cleared up the news by saying that, in the future, Ant Financial could expect closer working ties in the area of online securities and wealth management, as well as in other areas of interest.
