(Yicai Global) Nov. 18 -- SF Holding is not planning to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Chinese express delivery giant said yesterday in response to a recent report suggesting that it was.

SF Holding is weighing up a second public offering in Hong Kong, which could raise as much as USD5 billion, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter.

“The firm, also known as SF Express, has been considering options including a second listing in Hong Kong, or a Hong Kong initial public offering of its main courier business,” the report said. Discussions are at an early stage and SF Express could still decide not to go ahead, it added.

Other big courier firms, including Shanghai-based YTO Express and ZTO Express, are listed in Hong Kong. As China’s offshore financial center, Hong Kong offers a more diversified pool of investors, a two-way trading system that enables short-selling and a strong financing ability that can accept IPOs of different scales.

SF Holding has done well from China’s rapid shift to online retail due to the Covid-10 pandemic. The Shenzhen-based courier firm logged a 30 percent jump in net profit in the first three quarters from the same period last year to CNY5.6 billion (USD855.7 million), according to its latest earnings report. Revenue was up 39 percent to CNY109.6 billion.

The company’s overseas operations, which covers around 71 countries, became its fastest growing business in the first half, with revenue more than doubling to CNY2.9 billion (USD443 million).

SF Holding’s stock [SHE:002352] was trading down 1.57 percent at CNY77.22 (USD11.80) as of 1 p.m. China time.

Editor: Kim Taylor