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BEIJING, July 11 (TiPost)— Chinese courier giants may get together in Hong Kong public market.

Credit：Visual China

S.F. Holding Co., Ltd. is doing research and consultants and other preliminary works about equity financing in Hong Kong capital market, but it has not finalized specific timetable or plans yet, the according to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The statement said the move was made to follow its strategy of development.”As the biggest logistics group in China and Asia as well as the fourth biggest in the world, SF is dedicated to offering high-quality and differentiated services to customers and building digital supply chain ecosystem to become a leader in the worldwide smart supply chain,” the statement said.

The announcement suggests SF confirmed initial public offering (IPO) is an option on the table after rumors about its listing spread these years.

SF was reported to weigh raising as much as US$5 billion through a secondary listing in Hong Kong back in November, 2020. The company later clarified it didn’t develop any listing plan. As two rivals made their progress in listing earlier this year, reports about SF’s IPO emerged again.

Reuters learned in May that SF planned one of the largest public offerings in Hong Kong by June, aiming to raise US$2 billion to US$3 billion. Bloomberg’s sources that month also said SF has started preparations with banks for its secondary listing in Hong Kong as soon as this year, which could raise the same amount as Reuters reported. The company had a market value of about $39 billion, making it the world’s fourth-largest listed delivery services firm behind United Parcel Service Inc., Deutsche Post AG and FedEx Corp., according to data compiled by Bloomberg in May.

The reports came as SF inked a deal of divestment with its peer J&T Global Express Limited. Under a share transfer agreement accounted in May, J&T’s subsidiary J&T Express (Shenzhen) Supply Chain Co., Ltd. would spend RMB1.183 billion to acquire 100% share rights of Shenzhen Fengwang Information Technology Co., Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SF’s subsidiary Shenzhen Fengwang Holdings Co., Ltd. A month after the agreement, J&T applied for public offering with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a plan to raise US$500 million to US$1 billion.

Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd, a logistics unit that Alibaba holds a 67% stakes in, is preparing its listing at the moment. Alibaba unveiled late March to split into six business groups, five of which including Cainiao will have the flexibility to raise external capital and potentially to seek its own IPO, with the exception of Taobao & Tmall Group, which will remain wholly-owned by Alibaba Group. A Bloomberg report right after the announcement said Cainiao has started preparation for its Hong Kong IPO, which seems to be the first in Alibaba’s six units to be a listed company. With the current valuation at more than US$20 billion, Cainiao could go public as early as end of the year, according to the report. Two months later, Alibaba said its board of directors approved Cainiao to explore an IPO with the target to complete the deal in the next 12 to 18 months.