Chinese firms dip toe in US capital market

At least four Chinese firms are reportedly preparing for listing on the US stock market, but analysts said Tuesday the news does not mean the restart of a new round of IPOs by Chinese firms in the US.

Chinese firms including travel website qunar.com, computer chip producer Montage Technology and mobile app developer 3G.cn & GO Launcher are discussing their IPO plans for the US, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

China's leading e-commerce company Alibaba Group is also predicted to get listed as early as this year, either in the US, in Hong Kong, or on another stock exchange, according to the report.

The four companies all declined to comment on the IPO issue when reached by the Global Times Tuesday.

The report came following a recent IPO filing submission with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by Chinese online trade firm LightInTheBox Holding Co.

LightInTheBox is expected to float on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, raising as much as $87.15 million, according to US financial site

iposcoop.com, but the online retailer could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

If LightInTheBox successfully launches the IPO, it will be the first Chinese firm to get listed in the US in 2013.

However, even if it launches a US IPO and other Chinese firms are preparing for IPOs in the US, it does not necessarily indicate that the US capital market is ready to welcome Chinese companies again, Feng Po, an analyst with market research firm ChinaVenture, told the Global Times Tuesday.

"It still depends on the stock performance of the firms after they get listed," Feng said.

There has been little improvement in the US stock market environment for Chinese companies since the second half of 2011 and 2012, when some US-listed Chinese companies were accused of accounting scandals, which greatly hurt US investor confidence in Chinese firms, leading many to suspend their US IPOs, Feng said.

The US capital market witnessed 46 Chinese firms listing in 2010 and 15 in 2011, while 2012 saw only two - online retailer Vipshop Holdings Ltd in March and gaming firm YY Inc in November - according to data from venture capital consultancy ­Zero2IPO.

The capital market in the US is recovering overall, as more than 20 companies have launched IPOs in May alone, Zhong Rixin, an analyst with Beijing-based financial services information provider imeigu.com, told the Global Times Tuesday.

Vipshop and YY are enjoying unexpected financial performance, with their stock prices currently more than double their prices at issuance.

Some earlier-listed Chinese firms such as Qihoo 360 Technology Co and SouFun Holdings Ltd have also seen stock price increases, boosting the confidence of many Chinese firms and leading them to restart their postponed US IPOs, Zhong noted, giving Qunar as an example.

"But US investors now cautiously place each Chinese firm under a microscope, and those with strong financial performance and innovative business models may be more easily accepted by US investors," Zhong said.