We live in a globalized world. One of the effects of globalization is that companies can choose to list in a foreign exchange rather than the one at home.
Increasingly, we have observed Singapore-based companies choosing to list in the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. I compiled a list of them herein (not rank in any order) and highlighted a handful – you might find some of their products familiar!
1- Razer (SEHK:1337)
A gaming peripheral company that has built a cult around its products (gaming mouse, keyboards and more).
Games aside, Razer has also introduced its own smartphones and moved into fintech since 2018. Razer raised HK$4.1 billion (S$721 million) during the IPO in 2017.
Founder, Tan Min-Liang, is estimated to worth US$650m according to Forbes. He was a billionaire at one point but I guess his net worth came down together with Razer’s share price (-45% since IPO).
2 – IGG (SEHK:799)
The company was founded in China but has since located its HQ in Singapore. Hence, I simply considered this a Singapore-based company too.
IGG found a hit-game in Lords Mobile, a massive multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) on mobile devices. The game had more than 200 million players around the world. IGG was listed in 2013 and raised HK$950 million (S$167 million).
3 – Snack Empire (SEHK:1843)
Snack Empire doesn’t ring a bell? How about Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks?
I believe you recall seeing many of such little shopfront (image above) around Singapore. You might have been a patron too. Singaporeans who enjoy Taiwanese street food can get their fix at these kiosks, especially it is unlikely you can travel there this year. The company IPO-ed in 2019 and raised HK$130 million (S$22.5 million).
4 – TS Wonders (SEHK:1767)
I am sure you have seen the Tai Sun brands in supermarkets. I love the Nature’s Wonders baked cashew nuts.
TS Wonders is the holding company listed on HKEX. It raked in S$61m sales in 2019 – S$47m from nuts and $12m from chips (remainder were other revenue). There weren’t much coverage on the IPO last year – it sought to raise HK$137.5 million (S$24.1 million).
5 – Eggriculture Foods (SEHK:8609)
Another product which you can find in the supermarkets. Eggriculture Foods has a local farm producing 350,000 fresh eggs daily under the “安安 N&N brand.
It also produces and sells pasteurised shell eggs, under the “Egg Story” brand (pasteurised to kill Salmonella and Bird Flu Virus with a “P” letterstamped or imprinted on each pasteurised shell egg).
The company successfully underwent an IPO in 2018 to raise HK$62.5 million (S$11 million).
6 – Jlogo (SEHK:8527)
I took the above photo of the Greyhound Cafe at Paragon in Aug 2020 when I enjoyed a nice breakfast and a good cup of coffee.
Today, I found out that the cafe is managed by the company Jlogo. Besides this cafe, the company also owns other brands such as Central Hong Kong Cafe, Black Society and Breadstory. The IPO took place in 2018 and raised HK$62.5 million (S$11 million).
7 – K Group (SEHK:8475)
Here’s another restaurant group – K Group.
The Dr Wealth team had visited Chir Chir for one of our team lunches previously. I just found out that the restaurant is managed by the HKSE listed company, K Group.
K- Group also owns other restaurant brands – Masizzim, Kogane Yama, Gangnam Kitchen, Nipong Naepong, NY Night Market, Sora Boru and After School. These are either Korean or Japanese restaurants. K Group was listed in 2018 and raised HK$80 million (S$14 million).
8 – Centurion (SEHK:6090)
Centurion got on the wrong side of the news this year. The workers dormitory operator faced a Covid-19 contagion in its Westlite dorms.
I previously shared it is quite a high-margin business, and I suspect the 25% decline in its share price this year was due to the impact of Covid-19 impact.
Moving forth, I am not sure if the government would impose additional measures on dorm operators, given what has happened during the Covid-19 outbreak. Such measures may affect the performance of Centurion’s workers dorm business arm.
Centurion was first listed on SGX with the ticker, OU8. The HK listing came in 2017, which raised about HK$69.7 milion (S$12.08 million) to fund global expansion.
I’ve highlighted some of the more familiar stocks above.
But that’s not all, below is a list of more Singapore-based companies which are listed in Hong Kong:
| No. | Company | IPO Year | IPO Amount | What They Do |
| 9 | GA Holdings (SEHK:8126) | 2002 | HK$50m (S$8.8m) | Automotive distribution, repair, parts and rental |
| 10 | Technovator (SEHK:1206) | 2011 | HK$81.2m (S$14.3 m) | Urban energy saving services |
| 11 | Kingbo Strike (SEHK:1421) | 2013 | HK$48.1m (S$8.4m) | Electrical engineering |
| 12 | Chuan Holdings (SEHK:1420) | 2016 | HK$122m (S$21.4m) | Construction |
| 13 | ISDN (SEHK:1656) | 2016 | HK$39.9m (S$7m) | Engineering solutions |
| 14 | BOC Aviation (SEHK:2588) | 2016 | US$1,100m S$1,495m | Aircraft leasing |
| 15 | Anacle Systems (8353) | 2016 | HK$60.3m (S$11.1m) | Enterprise and energy management solutions |
| 16 | SingAsia (SEHK:8293) | 2016 | HK$29.9m (S$5.2m) | Manpower solutions |
| 17 | Zheng Li (SEHK:8283) | 2016 | HK$26.3m (S$4.6m) | Automotive repair and modification, and trading of spare parts and accessories |
| 18 | BHCC (SEHK:1552) | 2017 | HK$309m (S$54.2m) | Construction |
| 19 | Shuang Yun (SEHK:1706) | 2017 | HK$113.6m (S$19.9m) | Road construction |
| 20 | Solis (SEHK:2227) | 2017 | HK$178.5m (S$31.3m) | Mechanical and electrical works |
| 21 | TOMO (SEHK:6928) | 2017 | HK$82.1m (S$14.4m) | Upholstery |
| 22 | Cool Link (SEHK:8491) | 2017 | HK$82.5m (S$14.5m) | Import and export of food products |
| 23 | Omnibridge (SEHK:8462) | 2017 | HK$67.5m (S$11.8m) | HR recruitment |
| 24 | RMH (SEHK:8437) | 2017 | HK$72m (S$12.6m) | Dermatology |
| 25 | C&N Holdings (SEHK:8430) | 2017 | HK$72m (S$12.6m) | Trucking services |
| 26 | Indigo Star (SEHK:8373) | 2017 | HK$60m (S$10.5m) | Reinforced concrete |
| 27 | GT Steel Construction (SEHK:8402) | 2017 | HK$64.8m (S$11.4m) | Structural steel fabricator |
| 28 | Nexion Technologies (SEHK:8420) | 2017 | HK$75m (S$13.2m) | Cybersecurity solutions |
| 29 | FSM (SEHK:1721) | 2018 | HK$150m (S$26.3m) | Metal fabrication |
| 30 | Grandshores Technology (SEHK:1647) | 2018 | Reverse Take Over | Construction, blockchain and cannabis |
| 31 | HKE (SEHK:1726) | 2018 | HK$110m (S$19.3m) | Design and building services for hospitals and clinics |
| 32 | LHN (SEHK:1730) | 2018 | HK$79.8m (S$14m) | Real estate management (including carparks) |
| 33 | HPC (SEHK:1742) | 2018 | HK$192m (S$33.7m) | Construction |
| 34 | Kinergy (SEHK:3302) | 2018 | HK$245m (S$43m) | Electronics manufacturing |
| 35 | Hon Corporation (SEHK:8259) | 2018 | HK$72m (S$12.6m) | Construction |
| 36 | ZACD (SEHK:8313) | 2018 | HK$165m (S$28.9m) | Asset management |
| 37 | IAG (SEHK:8513) | 2018 | HK$65m (S$11.4m) | Medical device manufacturing |
| 38 | ISP Global (SEHK:8487) | 2018 | HK$70m (S$12.3m) | Alarm and communication systems |
| 39 | Republic Healthcare (SEHK:8357) | 2018 | HK$78m (S$13.7m) | GP clinics under DTAP brand and S Aesthetics Clinic |
| 40 | SIIC Environment (SEHK:807) | 2018 | Listing by way of introduction | Waste treatment |
| 41 | Sunlight (1977) (SEHK:8451) | 2018 | HK$30m (S$5.3m) | Tissue products |
| 42 | Design Capital (SEHK:1545) | 2019 | HK$60m (S$10.5m) | Home design solutions and furniture retailer |
| 43 | Home Control (SEHK:1747) | 2019 | HK$186.3m (S$32.7m) | Home control solutions |
| 44 | AM Group (SEHK:1849) | 2019 | HK$140m (S$24.6m) | Digital marketing services |
| 45 | Guan Chao (SEHK:1872) | 2019 | HK$56.5m (S$9.9m) | Automotive sales via Vincar brand |
| 46 | Beng Soon Machinery (SEHK:1987) | 2019 | HK$130m (S$22.8m) | Demolition |
| 47 | S&T (SEHK:3928) | 2019 | HK$138m (S$24.2m) | Construction |
| 48 | Optima Automobile (SEHK:8418) | 2019 | HK$60m (S$10.5m) | Automotive repair, car rental, and automotive parts supply |
| 49 | Khoon Group (SEHK:924) | 2019 | HK$137.5m (S$24.1m) | Electrical engineering |
| 50 | WMCH Global Investment (SEHK:8208) | 2019 | HK$29.7m (S$5.2m) | Civil engineering |
| 51 | Jinhai International (SEHK:2225) | 2019 | Reverse take over | Manpower solutions for construction industry and dormitory |
| 52 | Wei Yuan (SEHK:1343) | 2020 | HK$159.6m (S$28m) | Civil engineering |
| 53 | Raffles Interior (SEHK:1376) | 2020 | HK$162.5m (S$28.5m) | Interior fitting-out services |
| 54 | CTR (SEHK:1416) | 2020 | HK$126m (S$22.1m) | Structural engineering |
| 55 | Kwan Yong (SEHK:9998) | 2020 | HK$88.4m (S$15.5m) | Construction |
| 56 | Singapore Food (SEHK:8496) | 2020 | HK$29.9m (S$5.2m) | Bakeries and restaurants |
Can SGX woo back overseas listings?
The elephant in the room is – why would these companies chose to list in HK rather than in Singapore?
It is counterintuitive as many of these companies sell their products and services locally and it would make more sense to tap on an investing community that is more aware of their presence.
But I guess HK’s higher trading volume is a better incentive for companies. Having a higher trading volume may lead to higher demand for shares and possibly a higher valuation.
That said, it could be a chicken and an egg problem – less trading volume leads to fewer companies wanting to list in Singapore, which in turns lead to a lack of new listings for investors to get excited about. I am not sure how to solve this but I hope we can have more Singapore companies choosing to list here rather than abroad.
K2 Holding is singapore based companies and listed in hong kong